GOVERNANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE 21ST CENTURY: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM SELECTED WEST AFRICAN COUNTRIES

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Ubong Edem Effiong
Supper Roland Okijie

Abstract

In this paper, we examined the influence of governance indicators on economic development within the West African sub-region. A total of ten West African countries were examined, and the study covered a period of 2002 – 2019. The study engaged the ‘Random Effect Model' and the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) technique – a dynamic panel regression analysis. The Random Effect Model discovered that ‘rule of law’ exerted ‘a negative and substantial effect’ in the development potential of the West African sub-region. Meanwhile, voice and accountability had a positive and significant effect on West Africa’s economic development. From the ARDL model, it was observed that ‘regulatory quality’ exerted ‘a negative and substantial effect on economic development’ of the sub-region; while the rule of law exerted a negative but insignificant effect. Conversely, control of corruption, political stability and absence of violence and terrorism; and voice and accountability exerted a positive and substantial long-run effect on ‘economic development’ of the West African sub-region. In the short-run, none of the governance indices exerted any significant effect on the sub-region’s development; but most of them portrayed a negative effect. The paper concludes that governance is a key issue of concern in the West African sub-region. As such, there is need for a moral rejuvenation on the part of the leaders, to bring the desired outcome of governance to the citizens.

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How to Cite
Effiong, U. E. ., & Okijie, S. R. . (2021). GOVERNANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE 21ST CENTURY: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM SELECTED WEST AFRICAN COUNTRIES. Global Prosperity, 1(3), 3–18. Retrieved from https://gprosperity.org/index.php/journal/article/view/22
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Articles
Author Biographies

Ubong Edem Effiong, University of Uyo

Ubong Edem Effiong, Department of Economics, University of Uyo, P.M.B. 1017, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4677-1268

Supper Roland Okijie, University of Uyo

Supper Roland Okijie, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Uyo, P.M.B. 1017, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6313-8881

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