Gender Inequality, Governance, and Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa

This article uses panel data for 34 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to investigate the effects of gender inequality and governance on poverty. It applied a maximum likelihood estimation of random effect models. We found that high gender inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa contributes to high poverty. The results also show that good governance in Sub-Saharan Africa may have a decisive positive impact on poverty reduction. The results are robust at country- and region-level data. It is also found that the net effect from the interaction of gender inequality and absence of good governance can have a potential impact on increasing poverty. Hence, to get out of poverty, improving human development and refining frameworks that improve institutional quality through voice and accountability, regulations, and government effectiveness on socioeconomic issues are necessary. The high gender inequality in the region should also be decreased.