Political stability and innovation in Africa
James Okrah, Marzena Hajduk-Stelmachowicz
Abstract
This paper examines the role of institutional factors, primarily, political stability, in shaping the dynamics of innovation activity in today's modern society. Using panel data consisting of 26 African countries from the period between 1996 and 2016 as well as employing the negative binomial estimate, we model the impact of those factors on the number of applications for patents per resident. GDP per capita, education and also other institutional factors including the rule of law and financial freedom. The results reveal a strong positive effect of the rule of law on patenting activity.
Topics & Concepts
PoliticsPolitical stabilityStability (learning theory)Political scienceEconomic systemEconomic geographyPolitical economyEconomicsComputer scienceLawMachine learningEconomic Growth and DevelopmentInternational Development and Aid