Enhancing ICT for productivity in sub-Saharan Africa: Thresholds for complementary policies

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate the relevance of enhancing information and communication technology (ICT) on dynamics of total factor productivity (TFP) in 25 sub-Saharan African countries using data covering the period 1980–2014. The empirical evidence is based on the Generalised Method of Moments. The following main findings are established. First, while enhancing ICT overwhelmingly has net positive effects on productivity, the corresponding marginal effects are negative. Second, an extended analysis is performed to establish thresholds for complementary policies. These thresholds are: 100% mobile phone penetration for TFP; between 101.214% and 101.419% mobile phone penetration for welfare TFP and 15% internet penetration for welfare real TFP. It follows that approximately 100% mobile penetration and 15% internet penetration are thresholds at which ICT should be complemented with other macroeconomic policies for favorable outcomes on productivity dynamics. Other policy implications are discussed.

Keywords:

• productivity
• information technology
• sub-Saharan Africa

JEL Classification:

• E23
• F21
• F30
• L96
• O55

Acknowledgement

The authors are indebted to the editor and reviewers for constructive comments.

Notes

1 The countries, selected on data availability are: Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Cote d'Ivoire; Gabon; Kenya; Lesotho; Mauritania; Mauritius; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Rwanda; Senegal; Sierra Leone; South Africa; Sudan; Swaziland; Tanzania; Togo and Zimbabwe.

2 The adopted education proxy is primary and secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI).

3 ‘First, the null hypothesis of the second-order Arellano and Bond autocorrelation test (AR (2)) in difference for the absence of autocorrelation in the residuals should not be rejected. Second the Sargan and Hansen over-identification restrictions (OIR) tests should not be significant because their null hypotheses are the positions that instruments are valid or not correlated with the error terms. In essence, while the Sargan OIR test is not robust but not weakened by instruments, the Hansen OIR is robust but weakened by instruments. In order to restrict identification or limit the proliferation of instruments, we have ensured that instruments are lower than the number of cross-sections in most specifications. Third, the Difference in Hansen Test (DHT) for exogeneity of instruments is also employed to assess the validity of results from the Hansen OIR test. Fourth, a Fisher test for the joint validity of estimated coefficients is also provided’ (Asongu and De Moor 2017, 200).