ICT and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Transmission channels and effects

Despite significant progress in the empirical analysis of the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on economic growth, previous studies have not empirically examined the mechanisms by which ICT hinders or expands economic growth. The specific aim of the present study was to identify the transmission channels through which ICT contributes to economic growth. The examined channels included; openness, FDI inflows, education, domestic investment, political institution, and inflation. The study employed the panel-corrected standard errors (PCSE) and system two step system GMM techniques on a sample of 44 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) over the period 2004–2020. Using an ICT composite index, the causal mediation analysis identified that ICT contributed directly to growth, as proposed by the growth theories. Furthermore, the same analysis identified; domestic investment, openness, and education as crucial variables through which ICT penetration indirectly promoted per capita growth in the SSA region. The robustness of this result was verified using a variety of tools. The present findings suggested that the current efforts to expand ICTs in Sub-Saharan Africa should be continued since this sector has a considerable indirect impact on promoting economic growth.     

Government regulation, corruption, and FDI

We analyze favors as utilization of informal modes of exchange within a formal economy, relating their negative aspects to corruption. This exercise enables us to integrate them into a model linking national institutional factors to the magnitude of cross-country FDI flows. In our empirical tests of FDI inflows in 55 countries across four distinct time periods, we find that the level of economic regulation is a major determinant of the extent of FDI inflows as well as the level of corruption, but corruption does not have an independent influence on levels of FDI inflows. Our results have important policy implications regarding the role of the state in influencing the location decisions of MNEs.     

ICT interaction with trade,FDI and financial inclusion on inclusive growth in top African nations ranked by ICT development

The significance of ICT (information and communication technology) framework in efforts to attract foreign investment (FDI), sustain commerce, and boost financial inclusion for enhanced inclusive growth has revolutionized the global system recently. Furthermore, earlier researches on the connection between ICT and growth concentrated more on general expansion than on the kind of growth that is evenly distributed and has broader societal implications than merely growing the size of the overall economic pie. This study critically analyzes the connection between ICT diffusion and inclusive growth, considering the interactive impacts of trade openness, FDI, and financial inclusion on inclusive growth in top African nations ranked in terms of ICT development, so as to close the existing literature gap. An improved-GMM (generalized method of moments) technique, founded on panel data-set spanning the years 2000–2020, is used in the study. By employing PCA (principal component analysis) to measure inclusive growth, ICT diffusion, and financial inclusion indices, the study contributes to the body of prior research. The model also accounts for the heterogeneous impact of the interactive term between ICT diffusions and trade openness, FDI, and financial inclusion on inclusive growth. Overall, results indicate that while ICT diffusion, trade openness, FDI, and financial inclusion significantly and positively enhance inclusive growth at both the individual and interaction levels, inflation hinders it. The study suggests that policymakers should establish measures to advance ICT development, encourage trade openness, attract foreign direct investment, and improve financial inclusion because these measures have tendencies to support inclusive growth by opening up a number of opportunities.     

Foreign direct investment,information technology and economic growth dynamics in Sub-Saharan Africa

The research assesses how information and communication technology (ICT) modulates the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth dynamics in 25 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa for the period 1980–2014. The employed economic growth dynamics are Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, real GDP and GDP per capita while ICT is measured by mobile phone penetration and internet penetration. The empirical evidence is based on the Generalised Method of Moments. The study finds that both internet penetration and mobile phone penetration overwhelmingly modulate FDI to induce overall positive net effects on all three economic growth dynamics. Moreover, the positive net effects are consistently more apparent in internet-centric regressions compared to “mobile phone”-oriented specifications. In the light of negative interactive effects, net effects are decomposed to provide thresholds at which ICT policy variables should be complemented with other policy initiatives in order to engender favourable outcomes on economic growth dynamics. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.     

Convergence and determinants of ICT development in case of emerging market economies

This paper aims to examine the convergence of ICT development in the case of 27 emerging market economies (EMEs) using annual data from 2000 to 2018. First, by employing Phillips-Sul (PS) panel convergence test, the results not only support the evidence of convergence in ICT development but also find convergence in the composition of ICT development known as ICT access and ICT use. Second, the study identifies factors such as per capita income, human capital, and FDI which significantly affect ICT development. Third, results based on stochastic conditional convergence reveal that EMEs countries are not only converging among themselves but also ‘catch-up’ to the OECD countries.     

最低工资标准、劳动力素质与FDI

本文利用我国30个省区2000～2014年的面板数据,分投资地区和投资类型考察了最低工资标准、劳动力素质对FDI流入规模的影响。研究发现：最低工资上涨对FDI流入规模呈现正U型影响;最低工资上涨通过提高劳动力素质增大FDI的流入规模。在东部地区,最低工资上涨对FDI流入规模呈现倒U型影响;而在中西部地区,最低工资上涨对FDI流入规模呈现正U型影响。最低工资上涨通过提高劳动力素质,增大了劳动密集型和资本密集型FDI的流入规模;而对技术密集型FDI的流入没有影响。本文的研究成果可为中国当前的最低工资制度、人才发展战略以及“引进来”战略的调整提供参考依据。     

Disparities in ICT adoption: A multidimensional approach to study the cross-country digital divide

This paper presents a cross-country study on the determinants of information and communication technology (ICT) diffusion using multivariate analysis techniques to capture the relative and multidimensional character of digital divide. Using canonical correlation analysis, the differences detected between groups of countries both in terms of ICT patterns and in terms of the factors explaining each are compared. The results provide the ability to distinguish between different patterns of ICT adoption that can be explained primarily by variables associated with differences in development levels. In countries registering higher levels of ICT adoption, the digitalization pattern is explained by GDP, service sector, education, and governmental effectiveness. In contrast, in developing countries, population age and urban population are positively associated with the ICT adoption, while Internet costs impact negatively. The results might be useful in finding and implementing the most suitable telecommunication and development policies for each case.     

Economic growth and the development of telecommunications infrastructure in the G-20 countries: A panel-VAR approach

This paper examines the linkages between the development of telecommunications infrastructure (DTI), economic growth, and four key indicators of operation of a modern economy: gross capital formation, foreign direct investment inflows, urbanization rates, and trade openness. By studying the G-20 countries over the period 1991–2012 and employing a panel vector auto-regressive model for detecting Granger causality, we find a network of long-run causal connections between these variables, including bidirectional causality between DTI and economic growth.     

FDI对中国工业增长和技术进步的贡献

本文以实证分析为主，描述、分析了FDI对中国工业增长的重要贡献。外商直接投资的重要作用，体现在提供资金来源、改善投资效益、扩大产出、增加利税、引进先进技术、提升人力资源等许多方面。本文分别对上述方面进行描述和分析。结论是，外资经济不仅推动着中国工业的持续增长，而且改变着中国工业增长的方式，提高了中国工业增长的质量。     

The long-run impact of Information and Communication Technology on economic output: The case of Australia

This paper investigates the cointegration and causal relationships between Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and economic output in Australia using data for about five decades. The framework used in this paper is the single-sector aggregate production function, which is the first comprehensive approach of this kind to include ICT and non-ICT capital and other factors to examine long-run Granger causality. The empirical evidence points to a cointegration relationship between ICT capital and output, and implies that ICT capital Granger causes economic output and multifactor productivity, as does non-ICT capital.     

全球视角下分布式创新的形成因素分析

20世纪90年代以后,随着经济全球化及先进信息技术的广泛应用,分布式创新应运而生。其产生根源是知识和技术已超过自然资源、资本和劳动力成为最重要的生产要素,并且具有技术领导者主宰国际知识分散创新的特点。文章认为有多种因素促成了分布式创新形成,包括全球化创新和跨国公司发展,发展中国家技术能力不断提升,全球技术标准和主导设计,创新快速响应客户需求,ICT技术广泛应用,日益加深的劳动分工和供应商协同等。为适应全球化创新环境要求,企业特别是技术密集型企业必须调整其创新模式。     

FDI对区域经济增长、就业影响研究——基于丝绸之路经济带我国西北段省区

本文基于丝绸之路经济带我国西北段区域1985～2014年的时间序列数据,采用VAR模型分析FDI 、经济增长与就业三者之间的动态关系。结果表明：FDI是经济增长和就业的格兰杰原因, 但经济增长不是FDI的格兰杰原因;FDI对经济增长有明显的促进作用,对就业的促进作用不 明显,经济增长未明显带动FDI流入。丝绸之路经济带我国西北段区域应牢牢抓住“丝绸之 路经济带”战略机遇,因地制宜地制定符合科学发展的引资策略,优化投资环境以吸引跨国 公司进驻该区域,并鼓励企业加大对研发、设计等价值链高端的投资。     

Financial development,ICT diffusion and economic growth: Lessons from MENA region

This paper aims to test jointly two economic puzzles: the effect of financial development and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on economic growth. Theories predict a positive effect of financial development and ICT on growth but empirical studies on these relationships produced mixed results. Further, we investigate the interaction between financial development and ICT Diffusion to test whether the impact of financial development on growth is strengthened by better ICT infrastructure. In this paper we assess empirically these relationships in some MENA countries. The empirical study is based on estimation of a dynamic panel model with system GMM estimators. There are three main findings. First, our empirical results join empirical literature that find a negative direct effect of financial development on economic growth. This ambiguous relationship may be linked to many phenomenons but there are not yet clear explanations of this puzzle. Second, the estimates reveal a positive and significant direct effect of ICT proxies on economic growth. This implies that MENA countries need to reinforce their ICT policies and improve using of new Information and Communication Technology. Finally, the interaction between ICT penetration and financial development is found positive and significant in the growth regression. This implies that economies in Mena region can benefit from financial development only once a threshold of ICT development is reached.     

Female participation in African labor markets: The role of information and communication technologies

This article investigates the effects of information and communication technologies (ICT) on female labor force participation in a sample of 48 African countries. We specify and estimate linear regression and dynamic panel data models with fixed effects (FE) and system-generalized method of moments (SYS-GMM) estimation over the period 2001–2017. The three main results are that ICT use (mobile phone and internet) significantly stimulates female labor force participation in Africa; this effect is enhanced by financial development and female education; the effect of ICT on female employment in Africa is strongest in the industrial sector. These results remain robust to the provision of social, cultural, and institutional variables.     

Harnessing digital technologies for poverty reduction. Evidence for low-income and lower-middle income countries

This paper contributes to understanding the relationship between ICT deployment and poverty alleviation in developing countries. It assess the digital technologies contribution to poverty reduction, through different channels of impact, like education, labor market, income and ICT-trade related activities.Using the sample of 40 developing countries between 1990 and 2019, it relies on macro data extracted from the World Bank Development Indicators (2021) and the World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database (2020). Methodological framework combines time trend analysis and locally weighted polynomial smoother, logistic growth model, and panel regression modelling techniques. Our major findings suggest growing ICT deployment, school enrolments, and increases in material wealth are significant drivers of poverty eradication in developing economies. However, the impact of digitalization on poverty is neither direct nor immediate. Therefore, we claim that national and local authorities, together with civil society must consider ICT as a key element of their broad development strategies.     

Does ICT investment widen the growth gap?

This paper builds a model of cumulative growth to examine the dynamic interdependent relationship between Information and Communication Technology (ICT) investment and economic growth for a sample of 29 countries in the 1990s. We confirm the following facts: First, there is a positive correlation between ICT investment and economic growth. Second, non-ICT investment has as much influence on the growth gap as ICT investment. Third, those countries with a solid economic infrastructure and open trade regime experience more active ICT investments. Fourth, those countries with a comparatively lower productivity level can reduce the gap using knowledge spillovers from more advanced countries. Fifth, reinforcement of patent rights has a positive influence on economic growth by stimulating the accumulation of ICT capital. Finally, ICT investment does not have a strong interdependent relationship with economic growth, while non-ICT investment has a cumulative causal relationship with economic growth and plays a key role in the process of widening the growth gap.     

全球化背景下上海企业对外直接投资的动因研究

2006年10月16日,联合国贸发会议（UNCTAD）发布了《2006年世界投资报告》。该报告指出：来自发展中国家和转型期经济体的外国直接投资（FDI）开始蓬勃兴起。2005年,发展中国家跨国公司对外直接投资额达到了创纪录的1,200亿美元。特别是中国在吸收外资保持世界第三的同时,自身对外直接投资也呈现出快速增长的态势。而上海作为中国经济的领头羊,其对外直接投资对我国而言占有举足轻重的地位、据此,文章在全球化背景下,在分析上海对外直接投资快速增长的基础上,对上海企业对外直接投资的主要动因进行了研究。     

有偏技术进步、要素替代与区域经济增长——研究综述

很多学者将区域经济差异产生的原因归结于地理区位、制度、工业产业布局、生产集中、人口 分布、贸易开放等外生经济变量,而忽视了资本、劳动力以及技术进步等内生变量对区域经济增长的解释。本文以内生新经济增长理论为出发点,从经典文献中寻找研究有偏技术进步与要素替代的经济学基础,从国内外文献中梳理要素替代对经济增长的“效率效应”和“分配效应”的微观机理的研究进展,尝试为区域经济尤其是透析区域经济、收入差距的成因提供一个新的视角。     

劳工标准水平与外商直接投资流入——基于国别数据的实证研究

本文对劳工标准和直接投资流入之间的关系进行了实证研究，并且通过工具变量的使用控制了劳工标准与直接投资流入之间的内生性问题。实证研究的结果表明，与流行的观点相反．在其他条件相同的情况下，高劳工标准反而会成为吸引直接投资流入的原因．该结论无论在全部样本中还是在发展中国家样本中都得到了验证。     

Trade Openness and Labor Force Participation in Africa: The Role of Political Institutions*

Trade liberalization is usually expected to lead to greater economic activity including higher labor force participation rates. Using data from forty‐eight Sub‐Saharan African countries over the period 1985–2012, we explore the impact of trade openness on labor force participation rates (LFPR), and examine how political institutions such as democracy, political rights, and civil liberties can play a role in driving this relationship in the above group of low‐income countries. The estimated marginal impact of openness on LFPR shows that LFPR is increasing with the level of institutional quality. In particular, political institutions are critical in enhancing the benefit from openness. Our conclusions are similar for male and female participation rates although the magnitudes of the former are higher, thus confirming that improving institutions can generate greater labor market benefits from trade in poor countries.