The Nexus Between Good Governance Indicators And Human Development Index In Africa: An Econometric Analysis

Abstract

This study examines the association between good governance indicators and the human development index in Africa. Accordingly, it uses the panel data of 49 African countries from 2000-2018 on the six World Bank governance indicators (WGIs) and the UNDP aggregate human development index (HDI). The data are analyzed using descriptive statistics and panel regression analysis. The descriptive statistical analysis shows that most of the countries that are scoring high in the governance indicators are also scoring high in the human development index. It also indicates that Africa's average score in all governance indicators from 2000-2018 ranges between 36.2 % and 40.4%, while the score for human development was 50.8%. Using a one-year moving average, the calculated improvement rates for the eighteen years in all the governance and human development indicators were meager. The finding from the panel regression analysis attests only the three good governance indicators - the rule of law, regulatory quality, and political stability and absence of violence - are significantly and directly associated with the human development index. The finding implies that policy makers in African countries should give emphasis on these three good governance indicators to augment their human development effort.