GENDER INEQUALITY, GOVERNANCE AND SUSTAINABLE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

The role of good governance in reducing the gender inequality and by extension ensuring sustainable human development is gaining much attention in the literature. Thus, this study investigated the combined effect of gender inequality and governance on sustainable human development in Sub-Saharan Africa, using panel data of 44 countries from secondary sources. The study explored the link using quantile regression techniques within a panel setting and found evidence that gender inequality has an adverse effect on sustainable human development in SSA. It also revealed that good governance improves sustainable human development in SSA countries with high human development index, while also empirically revealing that good governance acts as a substitute to gender inequality in improving sustainable human development in SSA. The study therefore recommended that policy makers in Sub-Saharan African countries should promote inclusive and accountable governance structures, strengthen regulatory quality and fight corruption that fast-track the implementation of gender-equitable policies are fully implemented