Enhancing ICT for Quality Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

Asongu, Simplice and Odhiambo, Nicholas (2019): Enhancing ICT for Quality Education in Sub-Saharan Africa. Forthcoming in: Education and Information Technologies

Abstract

This research assesses the relevance of information and communication technology (ICT) in primary education quality in a panel of 49 Sub-Saharan African countries for the period 2000-2012. The empirical evidence is based on Two Stage Least Squares (2SLS) and Instrumental Quantile regressions (IQR). From the 2SLS: (i) mobile phone and internet penetration rates reduce poor quality education and enhancing internet penetration has a net negative effect of greater magnitude. From the IQR: (i) with the exception of the highest quantile for mobile phone penetration and top quantiles for internet penetration, ICT consistently has a negative effect on poor education quality with a non-monotonic pattern. (ii) Net negative effects are exclusively apparent in the median and top quantiles of internet-related regressions. It follows that enhancing internet penetration will benefit countries with above-median levels of poor education quality while enhancing internet penetration is not immediately relevant to reducing poor education quality in countries with below-median levels of poor education quality.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: ICT; Primary school education; Development; Sub-Saharan Africa
• Subjects: F - International Economics > F2 - International Factor Movements and International Business > F24 - Remittances; F - International Economics > F6 - Economic Impacts of Globalization > F63 - Economic Development; L - Industrial Organization > L9 - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities > L96 - Telecommunications; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights > O30 - General; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O5 - Economywide Country Studies > O55 - Africa

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