Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/228024 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
AGDI Working Paper No. WP/20/047
Publisher: 
African Governance and Development Institute (AGDI), Yaoundé
Abstract: 
This paper seeks to gain insights into whether developing countries benefit more from the backwardness advantage for economic growth in the Information Age. The paper examines this concern through three complementary approaches. First, it derives theoretical grounds from the existing economic models to support the hypothesis that the internet, inter alia, enables developing countries to reap greater growth gains from technology acquisition and catch-up. Second, the paper uses descriptive evidence to show that the growth landscape has indeed shifted decisively in favor of developing countries in the Internet Age in comparison to the preinternet period. Third, using rigorous econometric techniques with data of 163 countries over a 20-year period, 1996-2016, the paper evidences that developing countries on average reap significantly greater growth gains from internet adoption in comparison to the average advanced country. The paper discusses policy implications from the paper's findings.
Subjects: 
backwardness advantage
developing countries
internet
technology catch-up
GMM
JEL: 
O40
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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