Multiparty democracy, social cohesion, and human development in Sub-Saharan Africa: A panel data analysis

<ns3:p>Background The reintroduction of multiparty democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa during the early 90s and the persistent poor human development performance of the region, have sparked several controversies regarding the need for such a political system in Africa. In the extant literature, these controversies have been characterized by fierce theoretical debates as to whether multiparty democracy influences human development and the scholarly contention that social cohesion, rather than this form of democracy leads to development. Objectives The present study examines these controversies along with the perception of Sub-Saharan African populations concerning the democratic transition and its impact on their well-being. To this aim, the following objectives have been formulated: to determine the effect of multiparty democracy on human development; to determine the effect of social cohesion on human development; and to determine the effect of the interaction between multiparty democracy and social cohesion on human development. Methods A panel data analysis of 35 countries was conducted between 1995 and 2019 to test the research hypotheses. Fixed-effects and system generalized methods of moments estimations were used to control for specific characteristics. Results The study found that, multiparty democracy, social cohesion, and the interaction between these two variables have a positive long-term effect on human development. More importantly, the study revealed that social cohesion decreases the negative influence of multiparty democracy on human development. Conclusions Overall, the findings of this study suggest that multiparty democracy is likely to improve the well-being of the populations of Sub-Saharan Africa if the degree of social cohesion is sufficiently high. As such, social cohesion is critical in terms of the extent to which multiparty democracy wields influence on human development outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa. Based on these conclusions, the study calls for comprehensive policy interventions—ranging from institutional reforms to the implementation of home-grown policies—to achieve sustained human development in the region.</ns3:p>