Democracy, economic growth, and human development: a spatial econometric approach

Abstract Studying the factors that influence the Human Development Index has drawn considerable interest from many scholars recently. This research provides critical insights into the challenges and opportunities that societies face throughout the development process. This study aimed to investigate the impact of economic growth and democracy on the Human Development Index across 74 countries, utilizing spatial econometric techniques from 1995 to 2021. The findings of the present study demonstrate that economic growth has a positive and significant impact on human development. The results also show that the existence of spatial correlation and democracy has a positive and significant impact on the HDI by contributing to economic growth and improving per capita income.