Effect of inclusive growth on political instability in Sub-Saharan Africa

Résumé

Sub-Saharan Africa is recognized as the world's most politically unstable
region. This research aims to analyse the effect of inclusive growth on
political instability in a sample of 26 Sub-Saharan African countries from
1991 to 2015. The results obtained from estimating a dynamic panel model
using a two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM)
estimator show that inclusive growth has a negative effect on political
instability. The baseline results are robust to the inclusion of additional
control variables. When we use gross domestic product (GDP) per capita,
the employment rate and the income equality rate as alternative measures
of inclusive growth, we find that increasing GDP per capita, the
employment rate and the income equality rate reduces political instability.
The panel random effects instrumental variables estimators confirm our
main findings. The results suggest that policymakers should promote
inclusive growth by stimulating growth in wealth and employment while
reducing income inequality among citizens to consolidate political
stability.