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Club convergence and drivers of digitalization across Indian states

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  • Bera, Subhasis

Abstract

Disparity in the level of digitalization is a crucial driver of economic inequality in an economy. Although a pocket of its population is still bereft of the benefits of digitalization, India currently has the second highest number of internet subscribers in the world despite the nation's late adoption of digital technology. An accurate assessment of the current state of digitalization in the country is required for devising effective initiatives towards building a Digital India and bridging the nation's internal digital divide. Considering 17 major Indian states and 21 variables for 10 years, we constructed a composite index of digitalization with the help of Principal Component Method (PCM). This paper identifies factors responsible for the digitalization divide across states. In the second part of the analysis, the study confirms, with the help of club convergence test, the absence of overall convergence towards digitalization and the existence of the non-convergent group. This paper also shows that the non-convergent group of states are at the bottom of the ranking table which indicates the need for greater attention to initiatives to bridge the digital divide.

Suggested Citation

  • Bera, Subhasis, 2019. "Club convergence and drivers of digitalization across Indian states," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(8), pages 1-1.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:telpol:v:43:y:2019:i:8:1
    DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2019.04.006
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    Cited by:

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    2. Pradhan, Rudra P. & Arvin, Mak B. & Nair, Mahendhiran S. & Hall, John H. & Bennett, Sara E., 2021. "Sustainable economic development in India: The dynamics between financial inclusion, ICT development, and economic growth," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    3. Zhuoxi Yu & Shan Liu & Zhichuan Zhu & Lianyan Fu, 2023. "Spatial Imbalance, Dynamic Evolution and Convergence of the Digital Economy: Analysis Based on Panel Data of 278 Cities in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-26, April.
    4. Charles Shaaba Saba & Oladipo Olalekan David, 2023. "Identifying Convergence in Telecommunication Infrastructures and the Dynamics of Their Influencing Factors Across Countries," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 14(2), pages 1413-1466, June.
    5. Saba, Charles S., 2023. "Investigation of Telecommunication Infrastructures-Industrialisation-Growth Nexus: Evidence from Disaggregated Panel Data Analysis," Economia Internazionale / International Economics, Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato Agricoltura di Genova, vol. 76(2), pages 209-264.
    6. Charles Shaaba Saba & Nicholas Ngepah, 2022. "ICT Diffusion, Industrialisation and Economic Growth Nexus: an International Cross-country Analysis," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(3), pages 2030-2069, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Club convergence; Digital divide; Digital India; Digitalization; Principal Component Method (PCM); Technology diffusion;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • O20 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - General
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • C01 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - General - - - Econometrics

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