Inequality, ICT and Financial Access in Africa

2018

149

This study assesses the role played by basic formal education on the impact of information technology on inclusive human development in sub-Saharan African countries during the period 2000-2012. The study aims to answer one critical question: 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. The findings of this study show that poor primary education dampens the positive effect of mobile phone penetration on inclusive human development. This finding should be understood from 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 sustainable human development. Policy implications are discussed.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 70%

Basic formal education quality, information technology, and inclusive human development in sub‐Saharan Africa

2018

149

“…In order to investigate the overall effect of enhancing gender inclusion on inequality, net effects are computed, in accordance with the contemporary literature on interactive regressions (Asongu & Odhiambo, ; Tchamyou et al, ). For example, in the penultimate column of Table , the net impact on the Gini index from the enhancement of female employment is 0.010 (2 × [0.00009 × 113.19] + [−0.010]).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How enhancing gender inclusion affects inequality: Thresholds of complementary policies for sustainable development

2019

This study investigates how enhancing gender inclusion affects inequality in 42 African countries for the period 2004-2014. The empirical evidence is based on the generalised method of moments. Three inequality indicators are used, namely, the Gini coefficient, Atkinson index, and Palma ratio. The two gender inclusion measurements used include female labour force participation and female employment. The following main findings are established. There are positive net effects on inequality from the enhancement of gender inclusion dynamics. An extended threshold analysis is used to assess critical masses at which further increasing gender inclusion enhances inequality. The established thresholds are as follows: (a) 55.555 "employment to population ratio, 15+, female (%)" for the nexus with the Gini coefficient. (b) 50 "labour force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15+)" and between 50 and 55 "employment to population ratio, 15+, female (%)", for the Atkinson index. (c) 61.87 "labour force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15+)" for the Palma ratio. These established thresholds are worthwhile for sustainable development because, beyond the critical masses, policymakers should complement the gender inclusion policy with other measures designed to reduce income inequality. Some complementary measures that can be taken on board beyond the established thresholds could focus on enhancing, inter alia, information and communication technology, infrastructural development, financial inclusion, and inclusive education.

“…Hence, in order to enhance robustness of the estimations, the study complements the Gini coefficient with two more indicators of inequality that capture extreme points of the inequality distribution, namely, the Atkinson index and the Palma ratio. The Atkinson index is a measure of income inequality, which appreciates the percentage of total income that a specific society would forego in an attempt to have more income equality among its citizens. The Palma ratio represents national income shares of the top 10% of households to the bottom 40%. These three indicators have been used in recent inequality literature in order to enhance the robustness of results (Meniago & Asongu, ; Tchamyou, , ; Tchamyou, Erreygers, & Cassimon, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How enhancing information and communication technology has affected inequality in Africa for sustainable development: An empirical investigation

2019

213

This study examines if enhancing information and communication technology reduces inequality in 48 countries in Africa for the periods 2004–2014. Three inequality indictors are used, namely, the Gini coefficient, Atkinson index, and Palma ratio. The adopted information and communication technology indicators include mobile phone penetration, internet penetration, and fixed broadband subscriptions. The empirical evidence is based on the generalised method of moments. Enhancing internet penetration and fixed broadband subscriptions has a net effect on reducing the Gini coefficient and the Atkinson index, whereas increasing mobile phone penetration and internet penetration reduces the Palma ratio. Policy implications are discussed in the light of challenges to Sustainable Development Goals.