ICT Development, Innovation Diffusion and Sustainable Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

Bibliographic Data

ID4181817
AuthorsMarjolaine Rogers (0000-0002-0880-6055, Wuhan University of Technology), Liu Shulin (Wuhan University of Technology, corresponding author), Brima Sesay (0000-0002-1353-1383, University of Sierra Leone)
Year2022
Volume12
Issue4
Publication date2022-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSAGE Open (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2158-2440 • E-ISSN: 2158-2440
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/21582440221123894
OpenAlexW4303832905
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited67

This study aims to explore the impacts of ICT and innovation on sustainable economic growth and the direction of causal relationships among them in a trivariate framework. The study employed the DOLS and Panel VECM for causality to study the relationships for 33 Sub-Saharan Africa countries categorized based on income between 2000 and 2020. The study uses annual time-series data that were obtained from the World Development Indicators (WDI) database for the empirical analysis. Results from the DOLS show that both ICT development and innovation contribute positively to sustainable growth in all the categories of countries. However, the marginal effects of innovation on sustainable growth are very small compared to ICT development, especially for low-income countries. The VECM result confirms significant causal relationships among the studied variables in the short and long run. Policies should be geared toward channeling resources to enhance ICT skills, access, and usage in the continent. This can be achieved if organizations engaged in the SSA agenda for prosperity, provide the support needed to complement different governments' efforts in advancing ICT penetration and innovation diffusion in the continent. Also, it is important for income groups to be considered when establishing and implementing such policies

Business · Developing country · Development economics · Econometrics · Economic growth · Economics · Information and Communications Technology · Panel data · Political science · Prosperity · Sustainable development · Sustainable Growth Rate · World Development Indicators · Economic Growth and Development · ICT Impact and Policies · Innovation Diffusion and Forecasting

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Open DOIOpen Access