Does good governance reduce poverty?
Poverty reduction is central to the Sustainable Development Goals. Is better governance the way to achieve it?
Poverty reduction is at the heart of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The first SDG target is to ‘eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere.’
Goal 16 introduces a framework for improving governance. New ISS research tests the impact of better governance on reducing poverty and improving human development in Africa. Results show that by 2050, 60 million fewer people could be living in poverty compared to the current development trajectory. Improving governance also creates significant gains in GDP, GDP per capita and reductions in infant mortality.
The study also tests whether achieving two other SDG targets can reduce poverty more rapidly than improved governance – specifically, eliminating certain communicable diseases and providing universal access to improved sanitation.
The paper with the full research results will be launched at the seminar and copies will be available.
Chair: Dr Jakkie Cilliers, Head, African Futures and Innovation, ISS
Speakers:
Ciara Aucoin, Researcher, African Futures and Innovation, ISS
Zachary Donnenfeld, Researcher, African Futures and Innovation, ISS
Anthony Bizos, Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Pretoria
