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Empirical verification of the link between the digital divide and women's economic participation in Africa

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  • Itchoko M.M. Mwa Ndjokou, Prince Piva Asaloko

Abstract

This article examines the link between the digital divide and women's economic participation. We use a cross-sectional model based on a panel of 45 African countries. Our results show that the digital divide (cell phone, bandwidth and Internet) worsens women's economic participation. The negative influence of the digital divide on women's economic participation tends to be amplified in countries with low democracy and in the industrial sector. Our results remain stable when we add cultural variables and when we use the alternative measure of the digital divide. However, after using the quantile regression approach, we find that these influences vary at different intervals along the distribution of women's economic participation.

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  • Itchoko M.M. Mwa Ndjokou, Prince Piva Asaloko, 2024. "Empirical verification of the link between the digital divide and women's economic participation in Africa," European Journal of Comparative Economics, Cattaneo University (LIUC), vol. 21(1), pages 123-164, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:liu:liucej:v:21:y:2024:i:1:p:123-164
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Digital divide; Women’s economic participation; OLS; Quantile regression;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa

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