Response of Human Development to Urbanization in the West African Economic and Monetary Union ( WAEMU )

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study examines the extent to which urbanization in West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) countries can help improve human development indicators. To this end, we adopted the standard Newey–West error estimator to account for autocorrelation and heteroskedasticity and the Driscoll–Kraay technique to address cross‐sectional dependence, covering the period 2007–2022. Furthermore, we employ the instrumental variable two‐stage least squares (IV‐2SLS) method to address endogeneity concerns. The results indicate that urbanization contributes to improvements in human development indicators, including the human development index (HDI), infant mortality, education, life expectancy, and gross domestic product per capita. Moreover, when we consider the gender aspect, the results show that urbanization is more beneficial in terms of improving life expectancy at birth for women. These findings call for policymakers to increase investment in the development of basic infrastructure and the provision of essential services, including communications, decent housing, water and sanitation, electricity, and safe and affordable urban transport. They should also develop accessible and affordable healthcare infrastructures, with an emphasis on the specific needs of women, such as maternal and child care.

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