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The Impact of Democracy on Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1982-2012

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  • Takaaki Masaki
  • Nicolas van de Walle

Abstract

Does democracy promote economic growth? There is still an ongoing debate over the economic implications of democracy, and this question has gained critical importance particularly in the African context, where a wave of democratization in the early 1990s coincided with the start of a new era of rapid economic growth. In this paper, we revisit this important topic and argue that the existing literature is inadequate in distinguishing the effects of regime transitions and democratic consolidation on economic growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Takaaki Masaki & Nicolas van de Walle, 2014. "The Impact of Democracy on Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1982-2012," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2014-057, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2014-057
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    3. Stéphane Mbiankeu Nguea & Armand Gilbert Noula & Issidor Noumba, 2024. "Financial Globalization and Democracy: Implications for Economic Growth in African Countries," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(1), pages 3355-3379, March.
    4. Asiye TÜTÜNCÜ, 2020. "The Effect of Democracy on Economic Growth in Developing Countries," Sosyoekonomi Journal, Sosyoekonomi Society, issue 28(44).
    5. Sisay Demissew Beyene & Mohammed Seid Ali & Belayneh Taye & Yihenew Wubu Endalew, 2024. "Questioning the democracy–growth debate in countries of the East African region: a political economy perspective," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 26(3), pages 1059-1081, December.
    6. John A Doces, 2020. "Democracy, consumption, and growth in sub-Saharan Africa," International Area Studies Review, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, vol. 23(1), pages 28-48, March.
    7. Lamia Arfaoui & Azza Ziadi & Sonia Manai, 2016. "The Relationship between Democracy and Economic Growth in Tunisia: An Application of Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model," International Journal of Social Science Research, Macrothink Institute, vol. 4(1), pages 137-150, March.
    8. Amir Azam, 2020. "The Comparative Analysis of the Industrial Policy Impact on Export Performance in the Military and Democratic Regime of Pakistan," Virtual Economics, The London Academy of Science and Business, vol. 3(2), pages 61-76, April.
    9. Adom, Philip Kofi, 2016. "The DDT Effect: The case of Economic Growth, Public Debt and Democracy Relationship," MPRA Paper 75022, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 11 Nov 2016.
    10. Whelsy Boungou & Francis Osei-Tutu & Amara Zongo, 2024. "Democracy and Intra-Africa Trade," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 66(1), pages 70-90, March.
    11. Khalifa, Sherin & Henning, Christian H. C. A., 2020. "Climate change and civil conflict in SSA and MENA: The same phenomena, but different mechanisms?," Working Papers of Agricultural Policy WP2020-03, University of Kiel, Department of Agricultural Economics, Chair of Agricultural Policy.

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