Relationship between press freedom and human development: Evidence from eastern African countries

Abstract

The objective of the study was to establish a nexus between the three dimensions of press freedom (economic, political and legal environments) and human development by taking five-year longitudinal data pertaining to six Eastern African countries: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda. The interrogation is theoretically informed by Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach which forms the conceptual foundation for the operationalization of the Human Development Index. The empirical examination of the association among the variables of interest employed both correlation and multiple panel linear regression analysis methods. Prior to the analysis, a protocol was followed that included preliminary tests of statistical assumptions underlying the use of the methods to ensure that the statistical chemistry of the data was suitable to the methods selected. The preliminary tests provided evidence that the data was indeed appropriate for the methods selected. Subsequent multiple regression tests indicated that both the political (p =. 000) and economic (p =. 008) dimensions of press freedom are important predictors of human development in the Eastern Africa region, lending support to the extant literature. However, the legal environment investigation of the role of press legislation failed to qualify as an explanatory variable (p=.071). Recommendations for further research are presented based on the limitations noted.