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Developing countries are implementing policies expanding the adoption and productive use of digital technologies to advance economic development and inclusion. Yet, systematic analyses of the welfare and distributional effects of digital technologies on households and individuals-especially broadband mobile internet-remain limited. To fill this knowledge gap, this paper proposes a simple analytical framework to offer insights on how more equitable access to digital technologies affects household welfare, which can be organized into four areas: (1) determinants of adoption of digital technologies; (2) distributional effects of increasing competition in the information and communication technology industry; (3) welfare and poverty effects of coverage and access to digital technologies; and (4) local economic effects of access to digital technologies. To illustrate the relevance and replicability of this framework across developing countries, the analysis is carried out for Senegal, a country that has recently experienced a rapid expansion in digital infrastructure.
Access to Technology --- Digital Divide --- Digital Economy --- Digital Technology --- Household Welfare --- Inclusive Growth --- Inequality --- Information and Communication Technologies --- Information And Communication Technology --- Information Technology --- Internet Adoption --- Mobile Broadband --- Poverty --- Poverty Reduction --- Technology Adoption
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Mobile broadband internet is the main technology through which individuals access the internet in developing countries. Understanding the barriers to broadband adoption is thus a priority in designing policies aiming to expand access and close the digital divide across socioeconomic groups and territories. This paper exploits data from harmonized household expenditure surveys in seven countries in West Africa in 2018/19-a subregion with one of the lowest levels of mobile internet penetration in the world-to identify the main factors that limit mobile broadband internet adoption. Results show that low levels of household consumption and prices of services are two key constraints. One standard deviation increase in household expenditure, about USD 65 per capita per month, is associated with a 6.5 percentage point rise in the probability of adoption, while one standard deviation drop in the price of mobile internet services, about USD 3.60, increases the probability of adoption by 2.4 percentage points. Other determinants include demographic characteristics (sex, age, language, urban location), socioeconomic features (educational attainment, sector of employment), and other factors linked to policy (access to electricity, ownership of assets, alternative means of internet access). Results are robust to specifications focusing only in areas with mobile internet coverage (3G).
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This report sheds light on the interlocked long-term territorial development challenges and the recently realized systemic risks affecting the Lake Chad region. It summarizes the findings of seven technical papers, each investigating different aspects of the interlinked challenges faced by the region. These studies are accompanied by complementary research on labor market and geospatial socioeconomic trends, as well as by a review of the thin literature on economic development across the region. In addition to presenting the main results of the technical papers, the report positions the findings in the broader context of an analytical framework depicting the feedback mechanisms between the region's territorial development gaps and the self-reinforcing link to shocks, namely, violent conflict and climate change. This analytical framework is presented in Section 1.2. The rest of the report is structured as follows. Section 1.3 describes the main social and economic trajectories in the region. It reviews long-term demographic trends, suggesting. Section 1.4 argues that the low-growth, high-poverty equilibrium observed in the region is closely linked to the region's economic geography. Section 1.5 discusses how the impact of climatic variation and violent conflict experienced in the region interlink with and exacerbate the territorial development challenges. Section 1.6 presents policy directions structured around four crosscutting themes: infrastructure, trade, governance, and natural resource management. The crosscutting nature of these themes encourages the exploration of potential synergies across challenge areas. The discussion in the section aims to inform policy-making efforts to strengthen territorial development and mitigate the impacts of conflict and climate change. Such endeavors can increase the likelihood of breaking free from the self-reinforcing negative mechanisms and boost the potential return of the region to a path of stability and inclusive economic development.
Access To Markets --- Agriculture --- Climate Change --- Climate Change Impacts --- Conflict and Development --- Economic Development --- Environment --- Human Capital --- Labor Market --- Natural Resources Management --- Poverty Reduction --- Trade Barriers --- Trade Facilitation --- Urbanization
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