<![CDATA[This study examines the relationship between liberal democracy, unemployment, corruption control, and human development in 10 Southeast Asian countries over the period 2010–2023, using 140 country-year observations. HDI data were obtained from the Asian Development Bank, LDI from Our World in Data/V-Dem, and other variables from the World Bank. The analysis employs panel data regression through three specifications: a baseline model, a democracy–unemployment interaction model, and a democracy–corruption control interaction model. Model selection tests indicate that Random Effects Models (REM) are preferred for the baseline and unemployment interaction specifications, while a Fixed Effects Model (FEM) with country-clustered robust standard errors is selected for the corruption-control interaction model. The findings reveal that liberal democracy has a negative and significant association with HDI in the first two models but becomes insignificant in the third. Unemployment shows a positive and significant association in the first two models but loses significance in the third. In contrast, corruption control and foreign direct investment (FDI) exhibit positive and significant associations with HDI across all specifications, while economic growth and both interaction terms are statistically insignificant. These findings highlight the importance of institutional quality and productive foreign investment in supporting human development in Southeast Asia.]]>
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