Affiliation:
1. Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, Nigeria
Abstract
Despite the wide acceptance of democracy as best form of government, coups d'etat seem to have become a never-ending phenomenon in many African countries. The relationship between democracy and socioeconomic performance is examined in this chapter. This study employs exploratory and descriptive techniques in achieving this objective. Socioeconomic performance is measured with indicators such as GDP, life expectancy, literacy rate, unemployment rate, and inflation rate. Selected countries are Sudan, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Seychelles, Botswana, South Africa, and Rwanda. The study didn't find a clear-cut relationship between democracy and socioeconomic performance in the countries under study and so concludes that leadership might be a more important variable to consider.
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