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Africa's statistical tragedy: best statistics, best government effectiveness

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  • Kodila-Tedika, Oasis

Abstract

We analyze the effect of the Statistical Capacity on government effectiveness/efficiency, using a cross-sectional and panel data for a sample of 48 countries African for a period of 2003-2008.The results show that Statistical Capacity positively affects government effectiveness/efficiency. The positive effect of Statistical Capacity is robust to controlling for other determinants of institutional quality and number of estimation techniques.It follows that countries with higher Statistical Capacity levels enjoy institution of better qualitythan countries with low levels of Statistical Capacity.

Suggested Citation

  • Kodila-Tedika, Oasis, 2012. "Africa's statistical tragedy: best statistics, best government effectiveness," MPRA Paper 40674, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:40674
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    1. Morten Jerven, 2011. "Growth, Stagnation or Retrogression? On the Accuracy of Economic Observations, Tanzania, 1961–2001," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 20(3), pages 377-394, June.
    2. Johnson, Simon & Larson, William & Papageorgiou, Chris & Subramanian, Arvind, 2013. "Is newer better? Penn World Table Revisions and their impact on growth estimates," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(2), pages 255-274.
    3. Isaac Kalonda-Kanyama & Oasis Kodila-Tedika, 2012. "Quality of Institutions : Does Intelligence Matter?," WORKING PAPERS SERIES IN THEORETICAL AND APPLIED ECONOMICS 201206, University of Kansas, Department of Economics, revised Apr 2012.
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    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Why you want good national statistics
      by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2012-08-27 19:50:00

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    Cited by:

    1. Christian Otchia & Simplice Asongu, 2020. "Industrial growth in sub-Saharan Africa: evidence from machine learning with insights from nightlight satellite images," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 48(8), pages 1421-1441, December.
    2. Kodila-Tedika, Oasis, 2013. "Poor Numbers: explanation of Africa's statistical tragedy [Pauvreté de chiffres : explication de la tragédie statistique africaine]," MPRA Paper 43734, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Kodila-Tedika, Oasis & Asongu, Simplice & Azia-Dimbu, Florentin, 2015. "Statistics and IQ in Developing Countries: A Note," MPRA Paper 68323, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Sub-Saharan Africa; Institution; Statistical Capacity; Information; Government effectiveness;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • C43 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Index Numbers and Aggregation
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • P48 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Legal Institutions; Property Rights; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Regional Studies
    • D8 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty
    • N17 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Africa; Oceania

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