The link between population density, developmental outcomes and perceptions of governance in sub-Saharan Africa
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Abstract
A well-established debate in the study of African governance considers whether there is a link between the continent’s historically lower population densities and some of the governance and developmental challenges experienced within the continent. However, as this scholarship has tended to be qualitative and historical in focus, there is less knowledge about how the relationship between population density, development and governance functions across contemporary Africa, especially at the sub-national level. This article reports on a study that drew on this debate but applied a unique methodology reliant on statistical and geospatial techniques. This was done by linking data collected in Round 7 of the Afrobarometer survey with localised population density data. The study found that citizens living in higher-density areas are more likely to have access to superior infrastructure, and that they are also less likely to trust institutions and believe that the rule of law is present in their society. These findings have substantive implications for policymaking in a region that contains some of the fastest-growing and rapidly urbanising societies in the world.
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References
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