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Determinants of Mobile Broadband Use in Developing Economies: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

Author

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  • Maude Hasbi

    (I3 SES - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation de Telecom Paris - Télécom ParisTech - I3 - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Antoine Dubus

    (Télécom ParisTech)

Abstract

Broadband is seen as a vector of economic growth and social development. In the developing world, mobile technologies are widely adopted and mobile broadband is progressively rolled-out with high expectations on its impact on the countries' development. We highlight what the determinants of mobile broadband use are in four Sub-Saharan countries. Using micro-level data coming from household surveys over 5 years, from 2013 to 2017, we show that SIM card ownership and being part of an online social community has a strong positive impact on mobile broadband use. We also highlight a positive correlation between digital inclusion and financial inclusion as mobile money users and bank account users are found to be more inclined to use mobile broadband. However, beyond apparent similarities, mobile broadband is used in different ways according to countries specificities. For instance, among the non-mobile owners in Nigeria, the unemployed are the most likely to use mobile broadband, most probably for job search practices, while it is rather used by students for information gathering in other countries. Finally we show that those excluded from mobile broadband use are the eldest, those with the lowest level of education, and women.

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  • Maude Hasbi & Antoine Dubus, 2019. "Determinants of Mobile Broadband Use in Developing Economies: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers hal-02264651, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-02264651
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-02264651
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Bahia, Kalvin & Castells, Pau & Cruz, Genaro & Masaki, Takaaki & Pedrós, Xavier & Pfutze, Tobias & Rodriguez Castelan, Carlos & Winkler, Hernan, 2020. "The Welfare Effects of Mobile Broadband Internet: Evidence from Nigeria," IZA Discussion Papers 13219, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Taiwo Akinlo & James Temitope Dada, 2022. "Information technology, real sector and economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa: a cross-sectional dependence approach," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 4241-4267, December.
    3. Oughton,Edward J. & Comini,Niccolo & Foster,Vivien & Hall,Jim W., 2021. "Policy Choices Can Help Keep 4G and 5G Universal Broadband Affordable," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9563, The World Bank.
    4. Edward J Oughton & Niccol`o Comini & Vivien Foster & Jim W Hall, 2021. "Policy choices can help keep 4G and 5G universal broadband affordable," Papers 2101.07820, arXiv.org, revised Feb 2021.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mobile Broadband Use; Developing Economy; Financial Inclusion; Digital Gap JEL Classification: I30; O12; L50; L96; O55;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • L50 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - General
    • L96 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Telecommunications
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa

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