Financial sector reforms and human development in Cameroon

This paper investigates whether financial liberalisation improves the role of the financial sector in enhancing human development in Cameroon. Use is made of the ARDL cointegration and causality techniques to analyse annual data for the period from 1973 to 2013. Empirical findings indicate that financial liberalisation promotes financial development which enhances human development in the long run in Cameroon. Interestingly, a negative relationship is reported between economic growth and human development; suggesting the existence of a poor system of income redistribution in the country which is not conducive to inclusive development. This suggests that complementary reform policies in the redistributive system of the country are needed to fully unpack the potential of the financial sector in enhancing human development in Cameroon.