HAS FOREIGN AID IMPROVED GOVERNANCE AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN WEST AFRICA?

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 217-229
Author(s):  
Stanley Egenti ◽  
Chinedu Nevo ◽  
Israel Onwe ◽  
Tobechi Faith ◽  
Oludare Durodola
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Foreign Aid ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Panel Data Analysis ◽  
Geometric Mean ◽  
Private Investment ◽  
Least Square ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Quality Of Governance

This study investigates foreign aid, quality of governance and human development in West Africa, adopting the Random-Effects Model (REM) of the Panel Data Analysis and Estimated Generalized Least Square (EGLS) estimation technique for 15 West African countries from 1990-2015. Governance Composite Index with Goal Post and Geometric Mean approach on six indicators of governance were constructed to treat foreign aid effects on governance collectively. Results showed that most foreign aids improve human development (income, life expectancy, and education). However, some foreign aids weaken the quality of governance. The researchers recommended that government should have little or no role in foreign aid influx into the economy; rather, foreign aid should be channeled through tax effort and private investment. More so, donors should concentrate on poor countries with good institutions if foreign aid must be channeled through government expenditure. Finally, an independent body should ensure mutual accountability between recipients and donors routinely to ensure foreign aid improves human development without weakening governance quality.

Centripetal Democratic Governance: A Theory and Global Inquiry

2005 ◽  
Vol 99 (4) ◽  
pp. 567-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN GERRING ◽  
STROM C. THACKER ◽  
CAROLA MORENO
Keyword(s):  
Economic Policy ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Constitutional Level ◽  
Quality Of Governance ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Dominant Paradigm

Why are some democratic governments more successful than others? What impact do various political institutions have on the quality of governance? This paper develops and tests a new theory of democratic governance. This theory, which we label centripetalism, stands in contrast to the dominant paradigm of decentralism. The centripetal theory of governance argues that democratic institutions work best when they are able to reconcile the twin goals of centralized authority and broad inclusion. At the constitutional level, our theory argues that unitary, parliamentary, and list-PR systems (as opposed to decentralized federal, presidential, and nonproportional ones) help promote both authority and inclusion, and therefore better governance outcomes. We test the theory by examining the impact of centripetalism on eight indicators of governance that range across the areas of state capacity, economic policy and performance, and human development. Results are consistent with the theory and robust to a variety of specifications.

scholarly journals Economic Growth and Unemployment Issues in Ten (10) Selected West African Countries: A Panel Data Analysis

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Joseph Eshun
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
West Africa ◽  
Panel Data Analysis ◽  
Fixed Effect ◽  
Okun’S Law ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Okun's Law ◽  
Unit Increase ◽  
Effect Regression ◽  
Variable Bias

The economic growth of nations continue to be one of the main issues that economists have been interested in analyzing. In effect, several theories have emerged to explain the growth of nations including the Okun’s law which tests the relationship between economic growth and unemployment. Using the World Bank Dataset, the study tested the validity of Okun's Law in West Africa by employing fixed effect regressions to control for inconsistencies of the OLS estimates due to omitted variable bias. The random and time-fixed effect regressions confirm the validity of the Okun's Law in West Africa. The time-fixed effect regression shows that, economic growth will decline by 0.311 annually for every unit increase in the rate of unemployment. Time variant effects such as changes in policy provides a stronger case for the effect of unemployment rate volatility on the growth of these economies. It is therefore recommended that, various stakeholders adopt efficient fiscal and monetary policies aimed at lowering the rate of unemployment thereby expanding economic growth. One of such policies could be the reduction of the high corporate tax rates in the region that is bedeviling African countries by preventing industries and businesses from being built.

scholarly journals Aid for food security: does it work?

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivica Petrikova
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Panel Data Analysis ◽  
Generalized Method Of Moments ◽  
Development Aid ◽  
Bilateral Aid ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quality Of Governance ◽  
Cross Country ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to existing literature by examining whether development aid has any measurable impact on food security, whether the impact is conditioned on the quality of governance and whether it differs based on the type of aid provided. Design/methodology/approach – Panel-data analysis of 85 developing countries between 1994 and 2011, using generalized method of moments and two-stage least squares estimators. Findings – The paper finds that aid in general has a small positive impact on food security; that multilateral aid, grants and social and economic aid have a positive effect on food security in their own right, and that bilateral aid, loans and agricultural aid are more conditioned on the quality of governance that other aid. Research limitations/implications – The main limitations rest with the imperfect nature of cross-country data on food security and governance, which I have tried to overcome through a series of robustness tests. Practical implications – The findings suggest that aid, despite its many deficiencies, can play a positive role in strengthening food security. Furthermore, they indicate that concessional loans, bilateral aid and agricultural aid are likely to foster food security only in countries with better governance. Originality/value – The paper constitutes a novel contribution to existing literature because it is one of the first to use cross-country data to explore the impact of aid on food security and because it utilizes a relatively complex aid categorization, which allows its conclusions to be more nuanced.

scholarly journals Modern dynamics and problems of preserving human potential in Russia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
А.Б. СУХОВЕЕВА
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Human Development Index ◽  
Far East ◽  
Private Investment ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Human Potential ◽  
Development Index ◽  
The Social

Ухудшение качественных характеристик населения (показателей здоровья, уровня культуры и образования) необходимо относить к наиболее значимым негативным факторам социального развития России и ее регионов. В статье дана оценка современного уровня развития человеческого потенциала в России и субъектах Дальнего Востока России на основе данных индекса человеческого развития (Human Development Index – HDI). Проведено сопоставление HDI России HDI с некоторых стан Европы и Азиатско-Тихоокеанского региона, имеющих самые высокие значения (баллы) индекса за период 1990–2018 гг. В межстрановом сравнении выявлены наиболее проблемные компоненты человеческого потенциала для России. В межрегиональном сравнении за 2000–2016 гг. проведена группировка регионов по HDI, направленная на выявление и сравнительную оценку перспективности субъектов Дальнего Востока России по формированию, развитию и возможному сохранению человеческого потенциала. С помощью корреляционного анализа выявлена зависимость между значением инвестиций в основной капитал на душу населения и индексом HDI, а также составляющими его индексами долголетия, доходов. Результаты группировки субъектов Дальнего Востока России по HDI и по качеству жизни населения за 2010–2016 гг. в определенной степени совпадают. Показано, что сдерживающими факторами социально-экономического развития регионов, а следовательно, низких значений HDI и индексов качества жизни населения являются недостаточное развитие социальной сферы, низкие уровень и качество жизни населения, ухудшающие качество человеческого потенциала и препятствующие его повышению. Необходимо проводить более эффективную политику в социальной сфере с акцентом на увеличение бюджетных и привлечение частных инвестиций в экономику регионов. The deterioration of the qualitative characteristics of the population (health indicators, insufficient level of culture and education) should be attributed to the most significant negative factors in the social development of Russia and its regions. The article assesses the current level of human development in Russia and the Far Eastern regions on the basis of human development index (HDI) data. The HDI of Russia is compared with that of some countries of Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, which have the best values (points) of the human development index for the period of 1990–2018. In a cross-country comparison, the most problematic components of human potential for Russia were identified. In the interregional comparison for 2000–2016, a grouping of regions by HDI was carried out, aimed at identifying promising and less promising subjects of the Far East for the formation, development and possible preservation of human potential. Using the correlation analysis, the relationship between the value of investment in fixed assets per capita and the HDI index, as well as its indices of longevity and income, is revealed. The results of the grouping of FER subjects by HDI are confirmed by the types of regions according to the quality of life of the population for 2010–2016. It is shown that the low level of development of the social sphere, the level and quality of life of the population, which reduce the quality of human potential and prevent its increase, are the constraining factors of the socio-economic development of the regions and, therefore, low HDI and QOL values. It is necessary to pursue a more effective social policy, with a focus on increasing budgetary and attracting private investment in the regional economy.

scholarly journals Causality between Chinese investment in Latin America and the governance indicators

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-17
Author(s):  
L. Arturo Bernal Ponce ◽  
Ricardo Pérez Navarro ◽  
Mauricio Ramírez Grajeda
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Panel Data Analysis ◽  
Private Investment ◽  
Outward Fdi ◽  
Chinese Investment ◽  
Governance Indicators ◽  
Regulatory Quality ◽  
Indicator Variables

This article analyzes the causal relationship between China’s outward foreign direct investment (FDI) and several governance indicators by performing a panel data analysis for Latin American countries. First, a long-term relationship was found between China’s outward FDI and three governance indicator variables: control of corruption (CC), regulatory quality (QR), and government effectiveness (GE). This result supports the idea that there is a statistical relationship between FDI and the governance indicators. We also found evidence of causality from FDI to CC, implying that after Chinese investment there is a change in the host country’s perception of corruption. In addition, causality from QR and GE to FDI was found. The result is evidence of how outward FDI effects the host country government’s ability to implement policies and regulations which promote private investment and the quality of public services.

Threshold Effect of Raw Material Prices on Economic Growth of African Countries

2021 ◽  
pp. 2150009
Author(s):  
Houngbedji Sèwanoude´ Honore´
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Nonlinear Effects ◽  
Threshold Effect ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Policy Measure ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Dynamic Panels ◽  
Quality Of Governance ◽  
Material Price

We study the nonlinear effects of raw material prices measured by that of cotton product on the economic growth of a sample of African countries for the period of 1991–2019. Using the procedure for determining endogenous thresholds (Hansen, 1999) [Threshold effects in non-dynamic panels: Estimation, testing, and inference. Journal of Econometrics, 93, 345–368], the study revealed that raw material prices positively affect economic growth when the prices reach a threshold above 96.1. These results indicate that to be effective, any economic policy measure aimed at accelerating the economic growth of these commodity-dependent countries must take into account the level of raw material price indices, the quality of governance and the level of financial development.

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