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Does ICT diffusion contribute to women's political empowerment in Africa?

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  • Bruno Emmanuel Ongo Nkoa
  • Jacques Simon Song
  • Marie Laure Onguene Belomo

Abstract

In this article we investigate the effects of information and communication technologies (ICT) on women's political empowerment (WPE) from a sample of 51 African countries. We specify and estimate a panel data model by using the ordinary least squares (OLS) and two‐stage least squares (2SLS) over the period 1996–2017. The results show that ICT diffusion, measured by mobile phone and internet penetration, significantly increases WPE. This suggests an improvement of the institutional framework governing the use of ICT for a better WPE.

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  • Bruno Emmanuel Ongo Nkoa & Jacques Simon Song & Marie Laure Onguene Belomo, 2022. "Does ICT diffusion contribute to women's political empowerment in Africa?," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 34(3), pages 339-355, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:afrdev:v:34:y:2022:i:3:p:339-355
    DOI: 10.1111/1467-8268.12657
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