Does fiscal decentralisation hamper happiness? Evidence from African countries

IF 2.2 Q2 DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

World Development Perspectives Pub Date : 2025-01-18 DOI:10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100660

Borice Augustin Ngounou , Constant Fouopi Djiogag , Edmond Noubissi Domguia , Linda Tiague Zanfack , Thierry Messie Pondie

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Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals prioritise the achievement of quality decentralisation through local taxation and sustainable local communities. This objective has been widely studied and a rich literature exists on the subject. In light of this, in this article we examine how fiscal decentralisation affects happiness in 27 African countries. We use a variety of methods to conduct our analysis, including Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Driscoll-Kraay, Generalized Least Squares (GLS) whose robustness has been proven by the Lewbel 2SLS method, Method of Generalized Moments in the System (MMG-S) and Kinky Least Squares (KLS) for the period 2006–2019. The results show that fiscal decentralisation helps to increase happiness in Africa. Our recommendation is that governments should give priority to improving well-being by investing in public goods and services, promoting political stability and fighting corruption. In doing so, they can align themselves with the principles that make planned decentralisation beneficial to the people of Africa.

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来源期刊

World Development Perspectives Social Sciences-Sociology and Political Science

CiteScore

4.50

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

84 days

期刊介绍： World Development Perspectives is a multi-disciplinary journal of international development. It seeks to explore ways of improving human well-being by examining the performance and impact of interventions designed to address issues related to: poverty alleviation, public health and malnutrition, agricultural production, natural resource governance, globalization and transnational processes, technological progress, gender and social discrimination, and participation in economic and political life. Above all, we are particularly interested in the role of historical, legal, social, economic, political, biophysical, and/or ecological contexts in shaping development processes and outcomes.