The Influence of Village Funds, Economic Growth, and the Human Development Index on Poverty in Gorontalo Province (2015–2024)

This study aims to analyze the relationship between Village Funds, economic growth, and the Human Development Index (HDI) and poverty rates in Gorontalo Province during the 2015–2024 period, both partially and simultaneously. This study employs a quantitative approach using secondary panel data covering all five regencies in Gorontalo Province over a ten-year period, resulting in 50 observations. Gorontalo City was excluded because it has no villages eligible to receive Village Funds. The data were obtained from Statistics Indonesia and the Directorate General of Fiscal Balance. Panel data regression was conducted using the Fixed Effect Model (FEM), with model selection based on the Chow and Hausman tests, followed by diagnostic and hypothesis testing. The results indicate that Village Funds have a negative and statistically significant relationship with poverty rates. In contrast, economic growth has a positive and statistically significant relationship with poverty rates, suggesting that economic growth during the study period was not fully inclusive. Meanwhile, the Human Development Index has a negative and statistically significant relationship with poverty rates. Overall, the findings indicate that Village Funds and human development are associated with lower poverty rates, whereas economic growth is positively associated with poverty rates in the observed regencies.