Human Development and Governance in Africa

Abstract

This study examines the nexus between governance and human development in Africa. It uses data for the period 2010–2019 and takes into account the existence of spatial dependence and controls for the endogeneity problem through a Generalized Spatial Two Stage Least Squares (2SLS) technique. The exploratory spatial data analysis reveals the existence of spatial dependence on human development and governance quality. Our empirical findings support that in Africa, “good fences make good neighbors,” or proximity matters in the distribution of human development. Implications are discussed. This study complements the extant literature by using more updated data and employing an alternative and more robust estimation approach.

Note From the Editor

“…Focusing on two very different administrations in Turkey in "Same Ride, Different Riders: The Effect of Change in Leadership on Turkey's Trade with the European Union," Faez and Wong find that the differences in leadership led to very different foreign policies that suggest the need to rethink some central theoretical assumptions in certain mainstream international relations perspectives. Sixth, Asongu, Diop, and Nnanna (2023) show empirically that good fences really do make good neighbors when it comes to a quantitative study of the nexus between "Human Development and Governance in Africa." In their re-examination of this topic, using updated data from 2010 to 2019 and a spatial econometric approach that better controls for endogeneity, the authors conclude that proximity matters in the distribution of human development in African states-a finding that has important policy implications.…”

“…Sixth, Asongu, Diop, and Nnanna (2023) show empirically that good fences really do make good neighbors when it comes to a quantitative study of the nexus between “Human Development and Governance in Africa.” In their re‐examination of this topic, using updated data from 2010 to 2019 and a spatial econometric approach that better controls for endogeneity, the authors conclude that proximity matters in the distribution of human development in African states—a finding that has important policy implications. The most critical concern improving governance quality (especially in the areas of health, education, and per capita economic prosperity) to simultaneously improve cross‐country human development in the region.…”