ICT Use, Innovation, and Productivity: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

55 Pages Posted: 11 Nov 2016

See all articles by X. Cirera

X. Cirera

Institute of Development Studies; World Bank

Filipe Lage

World Bank

Leonard Sabetti

Government of Canada - Bank of Canada

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Date Written: October 19, 2016

Abstract

This paper examines empirically the links between adoption of information and communications technology (ICT), defined as usage by firms, innovation, and productivity using firm-level data for a sample of six Sub-Saharan African countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. Although adoption of information and communications technology in these countries is still lagging behind OECD countries, there is significant heterogeneity on adoption rates across the countries. Kenya has the largest adoption rate of computer, software, and Internet usage. The Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania experience lower adoption rates. The degree of internationalization of the firm, use of technology, and extent of competition are important factors explaining firm-level use of ICT. The results of the estimates suggest that ICT use is an important and robust enabler of product, process, and organization innovation across all six countries. However, the final impact on productivity depends on the degree of novelty of the innovation introduced by the firm.

Suggested Citation

Cirera, Xavier and Lage, Filipe and Sabetti, Leonard, ICT Use, Innovation, and Productivity: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa (October 19, 2016). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 7868, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2867649

Xavier Cirera (Contact Author)

Institute of Development Studies ( email )

University of Sussex
Falmer, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 9RE
United Kingdom

World Bank ( email )

1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433
United States

Filipe Lage

World Bank

1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433
United States

Leonard Sabetti

Government of Canada - Bank of Canada ( email )

234 Wellington Street
Ontario, Ottawa K1A 0G9
Canada

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