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.     

Driving information communication technology for tax revenue mobilization in Sub-Saharan Africa

This study explores whether increasing Information and Technology Communication (ICT) boosts government revenue mobilization for sustainable development in 48 Sub-Saharan African countries from 2004 to 2020. While total tax revenue non-resource as a percentage of GDP and tax revenue as a percentage of GDP are used to proxy for tax revenue mobilization, three ICT measures are used, namely; the telephone penetration rate, the mobile phone penetration rate and internet penetration rate. To perform the analysis, we adopt the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM). The empirical findings are as follows. First, while the calculated net impacts are substantially positive, the corresponding marginal ICT effects utilized for calculating net effects are extremely negative. Second, an extensive study is carried out to determine complementing policy thresholds. These thresholds include: 21.959 (per 100 people) telephone penetration for total income from tax revenue; 16.333 (per 100 people) internet penetration for total income from tax; 21.125 internet penetration (per 100 people) for the income from the tax on non-resource income. This study has policy relevance, and implications as the penetration of the ICT rate can be influenced by policies to mobilize government revenue effectively.     

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.     

Access to and penetration of ICT in rural Thailand

This paper presents an econometric study of information and communication technology (ICT) in all 70,000 rural villages in Thailand, where the ICT considered consists of fixed-line telephone service, mobile telephone service, public telephones, computers, and Internet service. The results may provide information that helps policymakers decide where to put limited resources to promote ICT, and helps profit-seeking ICT companies target regions that maximize revenues. The study found that education is far more important than income in predicting the percentage of households who adopt ICT services, and that some unexpected variables such as the penetration of pickup trucks are useful predictors as well. Even in areas where fixed-line phone service is available, 70% of households with computers choose not to become Internet subscribers, although many presumably have enough money and technical knowledge. By separating availability from penetration of ICT, the study found that they can have different predictors, which means that researchers who do not separate them may get misleading results. There is no evidence showing mobile telephone service as a substitute for fixed-line telephone service. Also, public telephone service had little or no impact as a substitute for fixed-line or mobile telephone service, so phone companies need not fear that deployment of more public telephones will decrease their subscribership. Finally, there appears to be significant unmet demand for telephone service in rural Thailand where the infrastructure does not yet exist.     

Determinants of mobile phone ownership in Nigeria

Mobile phones are recognized as a primary platform for mitigating the digital divide and increasing economic growth, and the same appears to be true for Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa. Since 2012, mobile phone penetration has shown nearly linear growth, reaching 83% in 2016. However, this statistic falls to only 46% after correcting for ownership of multiple SIM cards and sharing of mobile phones among multiple users. The determinants of mobile phone ownership in Nigeria are poorly understood, which hinders research that could inform policies capable of increasing mobile phone penetration and eliminating the digital divide. To begin to fill this research gap, we have analyzed socio-economic factors related to mobile phone ownership in the country. We used a logit model and the latest national-level Datafirst ICT dataset (2012) about mobile phone adoption from 1552 individuals. The sample was stratified, clustered, and probability-weighted to make it representative of the situation at the national level. The results suggest that factors such as geographic location and income may not strongly influence mobile phone ownership, in contrast to what was previously thought. Instead, the strongest factors appeared to be education level, informal work, social engagement, type of electricity supply and employment status. Our analysis suggests that to increase mobile phone ownership and close the digital divide, policy makers should target younger adults, provide training in digital literacy specifically for mobile phone use, invest in electricity supply infrastructure, and develop content and applications in non-English languages. These findings may contribute to understanding mobile phone distribution in Nigeria as well as inform implementation of the country's ICT Roadmap 2017–2020 and Vision 2020.     

Evolution and determinants of digital divide in Brazil (2005–2013)

During the last decades, the widespread growth of information and communication technologies (ICT) has posed incentives to broaden the participation of individuals in social, political and economic dimensions of life. However, utilization of ICT also involves access to technology and infrastructure, and acquisition of skills to deal with innovations and, thus, digital literacy is, primarily, a complementary good. The digital divide expresses inequalities in access and utilization of ICT among individuals and populations in different countries. The study adopts inequalities indexes of Internet access and mobile phone ownership to measure use of ICT goods, accounting for the digital divide in Brazil. The inequality indexes are also split according to main determinants using four nationally representative survey data from 2005 to 2013. Results indicate that the digital divide among individuals is decreasing quite fast among Brazilians over time. However, there is room for policies of mass access to ICT goods based on mobile Internet broadband access. In addition, digital illiteracy, evaluated by lack of education, is one of the main determinants of the digital divide in the country, especially among elderly individuals.     

Technology,education, and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

This study examines whether telecommunications infrastructure promotes economic growth in countries with better access to education compared to those with less access. Using a panel of 45 Sub-Saharan African countries from 1993 to 2015, the results using the fixed-effects, two-step feasible efficient generalized method of moments estimator indicate that in countries with better access to education, the Internet contributes to economic growth, while mobile phones do not seem to do so. These results suggest that while education is regarded as pivotal for the Internet, it seems to be irrelevant for mobile phone usage.     

Sizing up information and communication technologies as agents of political development in sub-Saharan Africa

It is widely speculated that the emergence of modern information and communication technologies (ICTs) will boost political development in the developing world. This expectation anchors on solid foundation since, presumably, the ICT revolution would radically alter access to information, dislodge entrenched social cleavages, and unleash new patterns of citizen consciousness and civic engagement by hitherto marginalized mass publics, and orchestrate new and decisive political equilibriums. This research provides an empirical assessment of the impact of ICTs on political development in sub-Saharan Africa. The analysis suggests that speculation about the potential for ICTS to enhance political development in the sub-Sahara is not unrealistic. The levels of phone, computer, and Internet diffusion are associated with political development, although only the effect of the phone remains once other variables are specified. The phone is the most robust of all individual factors explaining variations in political development. However, the effect of ICTs on political development can neither be certified as revolutionary, nor can they be codified as panacea.     

Do ICTs drive wealth inequality? Evidence from a dynamic panel analysis

Surprisingly, little is known about the cross-country effect of information and communication technology (ICT) on wealth inequality. At the same time, there is some tentative evidence suggesting that information and communication technology is positively correlated with income inequality. However, whether and how ICT affects wealth inequality is less explored, particularly because of the lack of reliable data on wealth inequality. This paper, therefore, fills this gap and contributes to this new literature by investigating the effect of ICT on wealth inequality in a sample of 45 developed and developing countries over the period 2000–2017. ICT is measured with six different indicators (including internet penetration, mobile penetration, ICT service exports, the ICT index, ICT quality, and ICT quantity), while wealth inequality is measured with three different indicators (comprising billionaire wealth to GDP, the Top 1% wealth share, and the Top 10% wealth share). The empirical analysis is based on the Generalised Method of Moments, and the results show that ICT increases wealth inequality. Furthermore, we show that democracy mitigates the increasing effect of ICT on wealth inequality. This result suggests that improving democracy in both developed and developing countries is an effective mechanism for mitigating the effects of ICT on wealth inequality. Therefore, we encourage efforts to implement democratic institutions that ensure respect for citizens' freedoms, greater democratic accountability, and executive constraints that allow for a more egalitarian distribution of wealth.     

Assessment of information and communications technology maturity level

The use of information and communications technology (ICT) turned out to be a key factor in the process of the wider development of a country. It is therefore very useful to estimate ICT evolution by the means of an appropriate metric. Based on statistical data from 159 countries, the ICT maturity level index (IMLI) is proposed and estimated by using structural equation modelling (SEM). This index is a metric measuring the information society in a country and consists of three sub-indices which are access, use and skills. It is an improvement of the ICT development index, proposed by the ITU in 2009. The analysis divides the countries into two groups, the developed and the developing, due to major disparities in their statistical data. The criterion used to define the groups was the income, as expressed by the Gross National Income per capita. The impact of a number of influential parameters on the ICT maturity level is evaluated and it becomes obvious that there is a substantial difference in their impact between developed and developing countries. Finally, a procedure that allows the ranking of the countries, based on IMLI, is presented.     

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.     

An index for cross-country analysis of ICT infrastructure and access

The purpose of the present article is to devise an index for measuring and analyzing the divide among countries in the area of information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure and access. Understanding the fact that there are many factors influencing the digital divide, this research is not intended to measure the digital divide in terms of different inequalities, but it rather attempts to take only one of the most important of these factors (maybe the most important of them) into consideration for measuring and analyzing divide between countries, that is, ICT infrastructure and access. In contrast to the majority of the indices in this context, the proposed index is built upon defining and conceptualizing ICT infrastructure and access. In addition, the index uses core ICT indicators on which the international community and experienced modelers have consensus that they measure the information society suitably. Therefore, the index can be exploited as the basis and standard for internationally comparable statistics in ICT infrastructure and access area. Moreover, it is the second index based on core ICT indicators after the Digital Opportunity Index (DOI) that was developed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 2005. However, in the current article, using Data Mining methods, Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) (to impute missing data) and Multi-Stage Factor Analysis (FA) (for aggregating the indicators), many problems and limits of the existing indices, the DOI in particular, such as the lack of data for analyzing ICT infrastructure and access, use of equal weighting or experts’ opinions to aggregate the indicators, are avoided. Since this index is developed by statistical procedures, it is flexible, adaptable, and modifiable over time while it sustains its original structure. It is comprised of two main dimensions: ‘ICT access’ and ‘coverage of mobile and access tariffs’ and 10 indicators. Finally, comparing the proposed index with the other indices in this field and gross national income (GNI) per capita of 150 countries, this index is tested; then, it is utilized to measure and analyze the divide between countries in the two dimensions, different geographical areas, economic conditions, and levels of ICT infrastructure and access.     

Do Innovative Work Practices and Use of Information and Communication Technologies Motivate Employees?

I investigate the impact of innovative work practices and information and communication technologies (ICT) use on employees’ motivations. The paper provides new and interesting results on how firms can build a motivational environment. Within an original instrumenting framework, I modify what previous analyses reveal about quality circle and training participation. The results confirm the positive role of work practices such as teamwork, quality norms, formal appraisals, management recognition, and family‐friendly policies. The ICT that most contributed to the development of a motivational environment are those that facilitate access to information and knowledge such as workflow, Internet, and e‐mail.     

Moving targets: Introducing mobility into universal service obligations

Structural changes in the economies of developing countries are leading to increased mobility of work and family life, and so an accommodating set of universal service obligations (USOs) implies new goals that extend beyond wireline telephone penetration and access. Wireless telephony penetration frequently exceeds wireline penetration in developing countries, and digital wireless platforms can incorporate Internet technology. This paper evaluates the history of telecom development in Mexico that has led to wireless telephony becoming the new consumption norm. The study takes the eMexico project as a case study of diversified USOs beyond wireline telephony. It considers potential obstacles to incorporating mobile phone and Internet (“Wireless Web”) services into Mexico's diversified universal service policy, including economic barriers to political mobilization over issues of telecom policy.     

外商直接投资对城乡收入差距的影响研究——空间溢出及门槛特征

本文以我国30个省市2003～2014年的面板数据构建空间滞后模型和门槛面板模型,以人均国内生产总值和外商直接投资（FDI）强度为门槛变量,实证检验FDI与城乡收入差距间的非线性空间关系。结果表明FDI与城乡收入差距具有显著的空间积聚特征,同时FDI对缩小城乡收入差距的效应显著,且在各地区间存在明显差异。此外,FDI与城乡收入差距间具有门槛特征。当人均国内生产总值和FDI强度跨过门槛值时,FDI对于缩小城乡收入差距的效应会呈现出下降趋势。     

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.     

Can information and communication technologies be pro-poor?

There is over 20 years of accumulated cross-country evidence on the link between telecommunications provision and economic growth. Looking at micro-studies from a range of countries including Bangladesh, Botswana and Zimbabwe, there is also some evidence that provision of telephony has a dramatic effect on the income and quality of life of the rural poor. This paper examines cross-country evidence to discover if teledensity (the number of telephones per capita) has a pro-poor growth impact—fostering increased average incomes while reducing inequality. It also examines the impact of telecommunications rollout on quality of life variables including infant mortality and literacy. It finds that, historically, telecommunications rollout has had a positive and significant impact on increasing inequality and little impact on quality of life variables. A reason for this is tested and preliminarily confirmed that rollout has (historically) only benefited the wealthy. The paper will then turn to emerging evidence on the role of the Internet in poverty relief and statistics on the access gap in provision between rich and poor, suggesting that this new ICT will also be a force for income divergence. Using the results of the cross-country analysis on telecommunications, the paper will conclude with a discussion of potential policy responses (such as sector reform and universal access programs) to turn telecommunications from a source of growth that also increases inequality to a source of growth that diminishes it.     

Targeting agricultural research and extension for food security and poverty alleviation: A case study of fish farming in Central Cameroon

Over 5 years of participatory on-farm research, market access, profitability, farming systems productivity and economic sustainability were compared on 100 small-scale farms in Central Cameroon. Integration technology based on the use of agricultural by-products as fishpond inputs was the driver for intensification. Over all farms, fishpond productivity increased from 498 kg to 1609 kg fish/ha (2145 kg/ha/yr). During the project period, the number of active fish farmers increased from 15 to 192 (including 55 farms which participated only through information exchange). Over all farms, net returns from aquaculture increased by 5 times over pre-project levels. Productivity, intensity and profitability increased more significantly in periurban areas with good market access, compared to rural areas. Among farmers with good market access, average net income from the aquaculture enterprise rose from $118 up to $1485. Research-Extension Team (RET) support cost an average of $61,300 per year. Over 5 years, rural farmers recaptured 23% of the relevant RET investment compared to 442% by periurban farmers. Likewise, increase in production attributable to RET intervention was higher for periurban (253%) compared to rural (11.3%) fish farmers. Within 3 years of the end of extension support, rural farmers had returned to pre-project production levels, whereas periurban farms had better maintained their productivity and profitability. Findings indicate that, in areas with little or no access to markets, the number of fishponds and fish farmers can be increased and yields improved, increasing local food supplies, but sustainability in the absence of extension subsidies is questionable. To achieve either of the two principal goals for the sector, food security and/or poverty alleviation, investments need to be made in improving the availability of quality technical assistance to targeted farmers and finding means of reducing social conflict arising from perceived inequalities in the accrual of the benefits of development.