Does democracy enhance economic growth? The case of Anglophone West Africa

Abstract

This article investigates the relationship between democracy and economic growth in five Anglophone West African countries using annual data from 1970 to 2014 and dynamic panel data estimation techniques which control for endogeneity, heteroscedasticity and spatial effects. The findings for the full sample estimation show a negative relationship between democracy and economic growth, however country specific differences apply. Consistent with the sceptical view we conclude that several other factors influence the ability of countries to grow, besides which political regime is in place. These factors among others are capital investments, human capital development, a productive labour force and technological progress.