Impact of Information Communication Technology Infrastructure and Energy on Industrial Value-added Growth of Africa

This paper investigates the impact of Information Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructures and energy on the industrial value-added growth of Africa. Most previous studies examine the effect of ICT infrastructure on aggregate economic growth. This study is original in that it investigates the impact of ICT infrastructures and energy on the industry sector value-added growth of Africa. Data are subtracted from World Bank Development Indicators, and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) databases from 2005-2017. We employed a dynamic growth model with a two-step difference GMM estimation method that allows instrumenting the endogenous and not strictly exogenous variables. The regression result shows that fixed telephone, mobile telephone, internet, fixed broadband and energy use are found to be positive determinants of industry value-added growth of Africa.  Log-linear specifications with the same estimation method is employed to check the robustness and confirmed that consistent results. The overall policy implication is that investment to improve the penetration of information communication technology and energy use together with use of automation in production, commerce and governance should be a priority for governments, development partners, and other stakeholders.