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Quality of Sub-national Government and Regional Development in Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Yohan Iddawela
  • Neil Lee
  • Andrés Rodríguez-Pose

Abstract

Despite widespread interest in government quality and economic development, the role of sub-national government has been largely overlooked. This represents an omission in Africa, given ongoing processes of devolution in much of the continent. In this article, we consider the impact of sub-national government institutions on economic development in 339 regions across 22 African countries. We create a novel index of sub-national government quality based on large-scale survey data and assess its impact on regional economies using satellite data on night light luminosity. To address causality concerns, we instrument sub-national government quality with data from pre-colonial societies. Our results show a positive and significant relationship between sub-national government quality and regional economic development, even when controlling for the quality of national-level institutions. Better sub-national governments are a powerful but often overlooked determinant of development in Africa.

Suggested Citation

  • Yohan Iddawela & Neil Lee & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 2021. "Quality of Sub-national Government and Regional Development in Africa," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(8), pages 1282-1302, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:57:y:2021:i:8:p:1282-1302
    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2021.1873286
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    Cited by:

    1. Li, Yingbo & Wang, Zihan & Lin, Ziqiu & Gao, Yuning, 2025. "Revisiting regional governance and regional development: Measurements, linkages and coupling effect," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    2. Bargain, Olivier B. & Vincent, Rose Camille & Caldeira, Emilie, 2025. "Shine a (night)light: Decentralization and economic development in Burkina Faso," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    3. Feng, Zhiyuan & Li, Yali, 2024. "Natural resource curse and fiscal decentralization: Exploring the mediating role of green innovations and market regulations in G-20 economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    4. Hussein Suleiman & Yilin Chen, 2026. "Regional economic inequality in Egypt: A Kuznets curve, convergence, or shock-driven decline?," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 75(1), pages 1-29, March.
    5. Giulio Cainelli & Carlo Ciccarelli & Roberto Ganau, 2021. "Administrative reforms, urban hierarchy, and local population growth. Lessons from Italian unification," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2109, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Feb 2021.
    6. Zhang, Min & Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés, 2024. "Government reform and innovation performance in China," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 122728, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E02 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Institutions and the Macroeconomy
    • N97 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History - - - Africa; Oceania
    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth

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