Genuine Wealth Per Capita As a Measure of Sustainability and the Negative Impact of Corruption on Sustainable Growth in Sub-Sahara Africa

South African Journal of Economics, Vol 85, No 1 (2017)

2 Pages Posted: 16 Feb 2017 Last revised: 26 Feb 2017

See all articles by Joseph Ato Forson

Joseph Ato Forson

University of Education, Winneba

Ponlapat Buracom

National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA)

Guojin Chen

Xiamen University - Wang Yanan Institute for Studies in Economics (WISE)

Theresa Baah-Ennumh

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana

Date Written: February 14, 2017

Abstract

In this paper, we argue that the answer to the question of whether the impact of corruption on development is homogenous, is no. Our optimism rest on how development may be conceptualised. When equated to a narrow measure in economic-wise which fundamentally ignores critical issues, then there is a possibility the outlook could be positive. But when conceptualised using a broad-based approach such as sustainable development, then the outlook could be negative. We assess a panel of 22 economies in Sub-Sahara Africa with the most recent dataset (1996-2013) from the World Bank and other reputable agencies. Our finding is quite robust. It holds in pooled OLS, Fixed effects and GMM within IV settings; and it also holds for different measures of institutions and different measures of development using growth per capita GDP and genuine wealth per capita, respectively. Taking stock of major policy blue-prints of selected countries in the region on the fight against corruption, we are able to point out that institutions play important role in insulating citizens against the devastation caused by corruption. Overall, through this comparison, we are able to signal that both incidental and systematic corruption poses a long-term threat to sustainable development.

Keywords: corruption, sustainable growth, Sub-Sahara Africa, institutions, governance

JEL Classification: D72, D73, D78

Suggested Citation

Forson, Joseph Ato and Buracom, Ponlapat and Chen, Guojin and Baah-Ennumh, Theresa, Genuine Wealth Per Capita As a Measure of Sustainability and the Negative Impact of Corruption on Sustainable Growth in Sub-Sahara Africa (February 14, 2017). South African Journal of Economics, Vol 85, No 1 (2017), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2918719

Joseph Ato Forson (Contact Author)

University of Education, Winneba ( email )

P.O. Box 25
Winneba, Central Region +233
Ghana

HOME PAGE: http://www.uew.edu.gh

Ponlapat Buracom

National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) ( email )

118 Seri Thai Road
Bangkok, 10240
Thailand

Guojin Chen

Xiamen University - Wang Yanan Institute for Studies in Economics (WISE) ( email )

A 307, Economics Building
Xiamen, Fujian 361005
China

Theresa Baah-Ennumh

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana ( email )

Faculty of Law
Faculty of Law
Kumasi, AK Ashanti Region +233
Ghana

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