Female Economic Participation with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Advancement: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

Efobi, Uchenna and Tanankem, Belmondo and Asongu, Simplice (2018): Female Economic Participation with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Advancement: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa. Published in: South African Journal of Economics , Vol. 86, No. 2 (March 2018): pp. 231-246.

Abstract

This study complements existing literature by investigating how the advancement in information and communication technology affects the formal economic participation of women. The focus is on 48 African countries for the period 1990-2014. The empirical evidence is based on Ordinary Least Squares, Fixed Effects and the Generalized Method of Moments regressions. The results show that improving communication technology increases female economic participation with the following consistent order of increasing magnitude: mobile phone penetration; internet penetration, and fixed broadband subscriptions. The findings are robust to the control for heterogeneities across countries. Policy implications are discussed.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Africa; Gender; ICT; Inclusive development; Technology
• Subjects: G - Financial Economics > G2 - Financial Institutions and Services > G20 - General; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I10 - General; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty > I32 - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O4 - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity > O40 - General; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O5 - Economywide Country Studies > O55 - Africa

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