Gender Inequality, Governance and Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

This paper uses panel data for 34 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to investigate the effect of gender inequality and governance on poverty. It applied a maximum likelihood estimation of random effect models. It found that high gender inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa contributes for high poverty. The results also show that good governance in Sub-Saharan Africa may have a decisive positive impact on poverty reduction. The results are robust at country and regional level data. Convincingly, it also found that gender inequality and the absence of good governance can have a potential impact to increase poverty. Hence, to get out of poverty by improving human development, refining frameworks that improve the institutional quality through voice and accountability, regulations and government effectiveness on socio-economic issues are necessary. The high gender inequality in the region should also decreased.