ICT Infrastructure Expansion in Sub‐Saharan Africa: An Analysis of Six West African Countries from 1995 to 2002

Abstract

A decade has passed since many African countries started consistently investing in the new Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Currently, there is need for more research on the impact of these investments on the expansion of productive capacity necessary for economic and social developments in this region on the world. Presently, the African Telecommunication Union (ATU) is advocating higher levels of investment in ICT in African countries, regional integration and new policies for the ICT sector. High-tech parks are being constructed for the development of the technology and to attract and encourage business initiatives in the sector. However, UNDP agencies for information technology and social development have not yet been able to state firmly whether the adoption of ICT has had a significant impact on less developed countries in general and African countries in particular. In this paper, I demonstrate that the investments in the ICT sector have resulted in technical progress. This study uses a DEA approach and some novel analysis to examine the impacts of investments in the ICT sectors of six West African countries during the period of 1995 and 2002.

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Are ICT investments paying off in Africa? An analysis of total factor productivity in six West African countries from 1995 to 2002

“…However, the past few years have witnessed some improvement in this situation. For example, Bollou (2006) demonstrated that ICT investments made between 1992 and 2002 in five West African countries have led to higher technical efficiency in their ICT sectors. Ngwenyama, Andoh-Baidoo, and Morawczynski (2006) demonstrated that there is a positive relationship between ICT investments and other sectors (health and education) and performance on the Human Development Index in some countries of Sub-Saharan Africa.…”