Driving Sustainable Human Development in Africa: The Interplay Between Digitalization, Health Expenditure and Financial Development

Sustainable human development is a key component of sustainable economic development. It involves a combination of knowledge, a high standard of living and a healthy life. This research utilized the Human Development Index developed by the United Nations Development Programme in examining the main drivers of sustainable human development. The index measures development based on three dimensions of human development: knowledge, health and living standard. In this research, data from 15 ECOWAS countries covering the period of 2004 to 2022 were used. Methods of Moments Quantile Regression, Two-Stage Least Squares and Panel Correlation Standard Errors were employed to examine the effects of various determinants of sustainable human development. The results showed that digitalization, foreign direct investment, health expenditure and financial development are important determinants of sustainable human development. Employment presents asymmetric effects—negative influence in lower quantiles and positive influence in upper quantiles—showing the existence of thresholds in generating employment’s benefits for human development. Carbon emissions are also positively linked with human development, though the connection is strong in the lower quantiles and weak in the upper quantiles—validating the Environmental Kuznets Curve relationship. Nonetheless, renewable energy is counterproductive in advancing human development. These findings inform key policy implications for sustainable human development in ECOWAS.