The Effects of Institutional Quality and Biocapacity on Inclusive Human Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of biocapacity and institutional quality on inclusive human development in Sub-Saharan Africa. The positioning is motivated by the relevance of complementing the extant literature with an alternative indicator of environmental sustainability. Using system-Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) on a sample of 39 countries, it is found that institutional quality increases inclusive human development and all its components. It is also established that biocapacity positively affects inclusive human development and the underlying positive effect is driven by the inclusive health component of inclusive human development and not by the inclusive education and inclusive income components of inclusive human development. A keen follow-up of environmental laws is a safe path for inclusive human development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Other policy implications are discussed to further enhance the relevance of the findings. JEL Classification: G20; I10; I32; O40; P37