Basic Formal Education Quality, Information Technology and Inclusive Human Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

Asongu, Simplice and Odhiambo, Nicholas (2018): Basic Formal Education Quality, Information Technology and Inclusive Human Development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Forthcoming in: Sustainable Development

Abstract

This study assesses the relevance of basic formal education in information technology for inclusive human development in 49 countries in sub-Saharan Africa for the period 2000-2012. The question it aims to answer is the following: what is the relevance of basic formal education in the effect of mobile phone penetration on inclusive human development in sub-Saharan Africa when initial levels of inclusive human development are taken into account? The empirical evidence is based on instrumental quantile regressions. Poor primary education dampens the positive effect of mobile phone penetration on inclusive human development. This main finding should be understood in the perspective that, the education quality indicator represents a policy syndrome because of the way it is computed, notably: the ratio of pupils to teachers. Hence, an increasing ratio indicates decreasing quality of education. It follows that decreasing quality of education dampens the positive effect of mobile phone on inclusive development. This tendency is consistent throughout the conditional distribution of inclusive human development. Policy implications for sustainable development are discussed.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Quality education; Mobile phones; Inclusive human development; Sustainable Development; Africa
• 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

References

Abor, J. Y., Amidu, Y., & Issahaku, H., (2018). “Mobile Telephony, Financial Inclusion and Inclusive Growth”, Journal of African Business, 18(4), pp. 430-453.

Afutu-Kotey, R. L., Gough, K. W., &Owusu, G., (2017). “Young Entrepreneurs in the Mobile Telephony Sector in Ghana: From Necessities to Aspirations”. Journal of African Business, 18(4), pp. 476-491.

Ajide, K. B., & Osode, O. E., (2017). “Does FDI Dampen or Magnify Output Growth Volatility in the ECOWAS Region?”, African Development Review, 29(2), pp. 211-222.

Ajzen, I., (1991). “The theory of planned behavior”. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), pp. 179-211.

Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Alia, D. Y., Diagne, A., Adegbola P., & Kinkingninhoun, F., (2017). “Distributional Impact of Agricultural Technology Adoption on Rice Farmers’ Expenditure: The Case of Nigeria in Benin”, Journal of African Development, 20 (2017), pp. 97-109.

Amavilah, V., Asongu, S. A., & Andrés, A. R., (2017). “Effects of globalization on peace and stability: Implications for governance and the knowledge economy of African countries”, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 122 (September), pp. 91-103.

Anand, R., Mishra, S., & Spatafora, N., (2012). “Structural Transformation and the Sophistication of Production,” IMF Working Paper No. 12/59, Washington.

Anyanwu, J. C., (2012). “Developing Knowledge for the Economic Advancement of Africa”, International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences, 1(2), pp. 73-111.

Asiedu, E., (2014). “Does Foreign Aid in Education Promote Economic Growth? Evidence From Sub-Saharan Africa”, Journal of African Development, 16(1), pp. 37-59.

Asongu, S. A., (2013). “How has mobile phone penetration stimulated financial development in Africa”, Journal of African Business, 14(1), pp. 7-18.

Asongu, S. A., (2018a). “Conditional Determinants of Mobile Phones Penetration and Mobile Banking in Sub-Saharan Africa”, Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 9(1), pp. 81–135.

Asongu, S. A., (2018). “Comparative sustainable development in sub‐ Saharan Africa”, Sustainable Development. DOI: /abs/10.1002/sd.1733.

Asongu, S. A., & Asongu, N., (2018). “The comparative exploration of mobile money services in inclusive development”, International Journal of Social Economics, 45(1), pp.124-139.

Asongu, S. A., & Boateng, A., (2018). “Introduction to Special Issue: Mobile Technologies and Inclusive Development in Africa”, Journal of African Business, 19(3), pp. 297-301.

Asongu, S. A., Batuo, E., Nwachukwu, J. C., & Tchamyou, V. S., (2018). “Is information diffusion a threat to market power for financial access? Insights from the African banking industry”, Journal of Multinational Financial Management, 45(June), pp. 88-104.

Asongu, S. A., Efobi, U., & Beecroft, I., (2015). “Inclusive Human Development in Pre-Crisis Times of Globalisation-Driven Debts”, African Development Review, 27(4), pp. 428-442.

Asongu, S. A., & Kodila-Tedika, O., (2017). “Is Poverty in the African DNA (Gene)?”, South African Journal of Economics, 85(4), pp. 533-552.

Asongu, S. A., & le Roux, S., (2018). “Understanding Sub-Saharan Africa’s Extreme Poverty Tragedy”, International Journal of Public Administration. DOI: 10.1080/01900692.2018.1466900.

Asognu, S. A., le Roux, S., & Biekpe, N., (2017). “Environmental Degradation, ICT and Inclusive Development in Sub-Saharan Africa”. Energy Policy, 111( December), pp. 353-361.

Asongu, S. A., le Roux, S., Nwachukwu, J. C., & Pyke, C., (2019). “The Mobile Phone as an Argument for Good Governance in Sub-Saharan Africa”, Information Technology & People. DOI: 10.1108/ITP-01-2018-0011.

Asongu, S. A., & le Roux, S., (2017). “Enhancing ICT for inclusive human development in Sub-Saharan Africa”, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 118(May), pp. 44-54.

Asongu, S. A., & Nwachukwu, J. C., (2016a). “The Role of Governance in Mobile Phones for Inclusive Human Development in Sub-Saharan Africa”, Technovation, 55-56 (September-October), pp. 1-13.

Asongu, S. A, & Nwachukwu, J. C., (2016b). “The Mobile Phone in the Diffusion of Knowledge for Institutional Quality in Sub Saharan Africa”, World Development, 86(October), pp. 133-147.

Asongu, S. A., & Nwachukwu, J. C., (2016c). “Mobile Phone Penetration, Mobile Banking and Inclusive Development in Africa”, African Finance Journal, 18(1), pp. 34-52.

Asongu, S. A., & Nwachukwu, J. C., (2018). “Educational quality thresholds in the diffusion of knowledge with mobile phones for inclusive human development in sub-Saharan Africa”, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 129(April), pp. 164-172.

Asongu, S. A., Nwachukwu, J. C., & Aziz, A., (2018). “Determinants of Mobile Phone Penetration: Panel Threshold Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa”. Journal of Global Information Technology Management, 21(2), pp. 81-110.

Asongu, S. A., & Odhiambo, N. M., (2017). “Mobile banking usage, quality of growth, inequality and poverty in developing countries”, Information Development. DOI: 10.1177/0266666917744006

Asongu, S. A., & Odhiambo, N. M., (2018a). “Environmental Degradation and Inclusive Human Development in Sub‐Saharan Africa”, Sustainable Development, DOI: 10.1002/sd.1858.

Asongu, S. A., & Odhiambo, N. M., (2018b). “Human development thresholds for inclusive mobile banking in developing countries”, African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development. DOI: 10.1080/20421338.2018.1509526.

Asongu, S. A., & Tchamyou, V. S., (2017). “Foreign Aid, Education and Lifelong Learning in Africa”. Journal of the Knowledge Economy. DOI: 10.1007/s13132-017-0449-1.

Bagozzi, R., (1982). “A field investigation of causal relations among cognitions, affect, intentions, and behaviour”, Journal of Marketing Research, 19(4), pp. 562-584.

Bongomin, G. O. C., Ntayi, J. M., Munene J. C., &Malinga, C. A., (2018). “Mobile Money and Financial Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa: the Moderating Role of Social Networks”, Journal of African Business, 18(4), pp. 361-384.

Chavula, H. K., (2010). “The Role of Knowledge in Economic Growth. The African Perspective”, ICT, Science and Technology Division (ISTD), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

Coleman, J. S., (1988). “Social capital in the creation of human capital”, American Journal of Sociology, 94, (1998), pp. S95-S120.

Cusick, J., (2014). “A review of: ‘Social media in travel, tourism and hospitality: theory, practice and cases”, Tourism Geographies, 16(1), pp. 161-162.

Dakhi, M., & de Clereq, D. (2007). “Human capital, social capital, and innovation: A multicountry study”, Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 16(2), pp. 107-128.

Davis, F., (1989). “Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology”. MIS Quarterly, 13(3), pp. 319-340.

Efobi, U. R., Tanankem, B. V., & Asongu, S. A., (2018). “Female Economic Participation with Information and Communication Technology Advancement: Evidence from Sub‐Saharan Africa”, South African Journal of Economics. 86(2), pp. 231-246.

Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I., (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Fisher, J., & Rucki, K., (2017). “Re-conceptualizing the Science of Sustainability: A Dynamical Systems Approach to Understanding the Nexus of Conflict, Development and the Environment”, Sustainable Development, 25(4), pp. 267–275.

Gosavi, A., (2018). “Can Mobile Money Help Firms Mitigate the Problem of Access to Finance in Eastern sub-Saharan Africa”, Journal of African Business, 18(4), pp. 343-360.

Howells, J. (2005). “Innovation and Regional Economic development: A matter of perspective”, Research Policy, 34(8), pp. 1220-1234.

Hubani, M., & Wiese, M., (2018). “A Cashless Society for All: Determining Consumers’ Readiness to Adopt Mobile Payment Services”, Journal of African Business, 18(4), pp. 409-429.

Issahaku, H., Abu, B. M., & Nkegbe, P. K., (2018). “Does the Use of Mobile Phones by Smallholder Maize Farmers Affect Productivity in Ghana?”, Journal of African Business,19(3), pp. 302-322.

Koenker, R., & Hallock, F.K., (2001), “Quantile regression”, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 15(4), pp.143-156.

Kuada, J., (2015). Private Enterprise-Led Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa The Human Side of Growth First edition by Kuada, J, Palgrave Macmillan: New York.

Kwan, L.Y-Y, & Chiu, C-Y., (2015). “Country variations in diiferent innovation outputs: The interactive effect of institutional support and human capital”, Journal of Organisational Behavior, 36(7), pp. 1050-1070.

Lee, M., & Lowry, L. L., (2015). “Social Media in Tourism Research: A Literature Review”. Tourism Travel and Research Association: Advancing Tourism Research Globally. 21.https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1104&context=ttra (Accessed: 27/04/2018).

Meniago, C., & Asongu, S. A., (2018). “Revisiting the finance-inequality nexus in a panel of African countries”, Research in International Business and Finance, 46 (December), pp. 399-419.

Michel, J., (2016). “Beyond Aid: the Integration of Sustainable Development in a Coherent International Agenda”, Centre for International Private Enterprises, http://www.cipe.org/publications/detail/beyond-aid-integration-sustainable-developmentcoherent-international-agenda (Accessed: 19/07/2016).

Minkoua Nzie, J. R., Bidogeza, J. C., & Ngum, N. A., (2017). “Mobile Phone Use, Transaction Costs, and Price: Evidence from Rural Vegetable Farmers in Cameroon”, Journal of African Business, 19(3), pp. 323-342.

Mishra, S., Gable, S. L., & Anand, R., (2011), “Service Export Sophsitication and Economic Growth,” World Bank Policy Working Paper No. 5606, Washington.

Mlachila, M., Tapsoba, R., & Tapsoba, S. J. A., (2017). “A Quality of Growth Index for Developing Countries: A Proposal”, Social Indicators Research, 134(2), pp. 675–710.

Murphy, J. T. & Carmody, P. (2015). Africa’s Information Revolution: Technical Regimes and Production Networks in South Africa and Tanzania, RGS-IBG Book Series, Chichester, UK: Wiley.

Muthinja, M. M., & Chipeta, C., (2018). “What Drives Financial Innovations in Kenya’s Commercial Banks? An Empirical Study on Firm and Macro-Level Drivers of Branchless Banking”, Journal of African Business, 18(4), pp. 385-408.

Nikiforova, B., (2013). “Social media in travel, tourism and hospitality: theory, practice and cases”, Journal of Tourism History, 5(1), pp. 99-101.

Penard, T., Poussing, N., Yebe, G. Z., & Ella, P. N., (2012). “Comparing the Determinants of Internet and Cell Phone Use in Africa : Evidence from Gabon ”, Communications & Strategies, 86(2), pp. 65-83.

Romer, P. M., (1990). “Endogenous technological change”, Journal of Political Economy, 98(5), pp. S71-S102.

Rosenberg, N., (1972). “Factors affecting the diffusion of technology”, Explorations of Economic History, 10(1), pp. 3-33.

Saifulina, N., & Carballo-Penela, A., (2017). “Promoting Sustainable Development at an Organizational Level: An Analysis of the Drivers of Workplace Environmentally Friendly Behaviour of Employees”, Sustainable Development, 25(4), pp. 299–310.

Seneviratne, D., & Sun, Y., (2013), “Infrastructure and Income Distribution in ASEAN-5: What are the Links?” IMF Working Paper No. 13/41, Washington.

Ssozi, J., & Asongu, S. A., (2016). “The Effects of Remittances on Output per Worker in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Production Function Approach”, South African Journal of Economics, 84(3), pp. 400-421.

Tchamyou, V. S., (2017). “The Role of Knowledge Economy in African Business”, Journal of Knowledge Economy, 8(4), pp. 1189–1228.

Tchamyou, V. S., (2018a). “Education, Lifelong learning, Inequality and Financial access: Evidence from African countries”. Contemporary Social Science. DOI: 10.1080/21582041.2018.1433314.

Tchamyou, V. S., (2018b). “The Role of Information Sharing in Modulating the Effect of Financial Access on Inequality”. Journal of African Business: Forthcoming.

Tchamyou, S. V., & Asongu, S. A., (2017). “Information Sharing and Financial Sector Development in Africa”, Journal of African Business, 18(1), pp. 24-49.

Tchamyou, V. S., & Asongu, S. A., (2018). “Conditional market timing in the mutual fund industry”, Research in International Business and Finance, 42 (December), pp. 1355-1366.

Tchamyou, V. S., Erreygers, G., & Cassimon, D., (2018). “Inequality, ICT and Financial Access in Africa”, Faculty of Applied Economics, University of Antwerp, Antwerp. Unpublished PhD Thesis Chapter.

Tony, F. L., & Kwan, D. S., (2015). “African Entrepreneurs and International Coordination in Petty Businesses: The Case of Low-End Mobile Phones Sourcing in Hong Kong”. Journal of African Business, 15(1-2), pp. 66-83.

Uduji, J. I., & Okolo-Obasi, E. N., (2018). “Adoption of improved crop varieties by involving farmers in the e-wallet program in Nigeria”, Journal of Crop Improvement, DOI: 10.1080/15427528.2018.1496216.

Wang, E, S-T., & Lin, H-C., (2017). “Sustainable Development: The Effects of Social Normative Beliefs On Environmental Behaviour”, Sustainable Development, 25(6), pp. 595- 609.

Yousafzai, S. Y., Foxall, G. R., & Pallister, J. G., (2010). “Explaining Internet Banking Behavior: Theory of Reasoned Action, Theory of Planned Behavior, or Technology Acceptance Model?” Journal of Applied Social Psychology , 40(5), pp. 1172-1202.