Democracy and human development nexus: the african experience

Using data from 46 african countries over the period from 1990 to 2012,the present study examines three principal issues. first,the study examines whether human development is affected by the level or the stock of democracy in these countries; and whether the affect varies over time. second,the study investigates whether a country’s level of development and education level foster or impede the impact of democracy on human development. third,the study examines whether a democratic regime helps to further improve the health of its population via redistribution mechanisms. the results of the arellano-bond (a-b) gmm technique show that democracy,irrespective of the measurement employed,has a positive impact on human development in both the long run and the short run (i.e.,infant mortality rate and life expectancy). the results also show that human development is independent of the country’s level of development and the education level of its population. additionally,democratic regimes tend to devote a considerable portion of government resources to the health sector,which is likely to be reflected in further improvements in the well-being of a population via redistribution mechanisms. the results seem to contain good news for african countries that inherited bad political institutions or systems from the earlier or colonial regimes. this is because the results tell us that african countries may still have the ability to improve their population’s health,even with their contemporary status of political institutions. © 2016,statistical economic and social research and.