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Unlocking Prosperity: The Role of ICTs in Alleviating Poverty in Middle East and Africa
Most countries in the Middle East and Africa region (MEA) have recently witnessed digital improvements despite the increase in poverty rates. This thesis investigates the potential relationship of Information and Communication Technologies and poverty reduction using annual unbalanced panel data for...
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AUC Knowledge Fountain
2024
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| _version_ | 1867613424021667840 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | ElNemr, Yousra |
| author_browse | ElNemr, Yousra |
| author_facet | ElNemr, Yousra |
| author_sort | ElNemr, Yousra |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Most countries in the Middle East and Africa region (MEA) have recently witnessed digital improvements despite the increase in poverty rates. This thesis investigates the potential relationship of Information and Communication Technologies and poverty reduction using annual unbalanced panel data for 21 MENA countries and 48 Sub Saharan African (SSA) countries from 1990 to 2022. By focusing on two primary ICT indicators representing ICT usage and access—internet penetration and mobile subscriptions— our research applies Fixed-Effects Two Stage Least Square (2SLS) economic model to explore their relationship with the poverty headcount ratio at the $2.15 per day international poverty line. The 2SLS results suggest a significant, negative correlation between ICT and the poverty headcount ratio in MEA countries. In other words, an improvement in both the internet access and the mobile usage is associated with a significant decrease in the poverty headcount ratio, controlling for other variables. These results are robust to different estimation techniques. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-3370 |
| institution | American University in Cairo (Egypt) |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:35:55.364Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publishDateRange | 2024 |
| publishDateSort | 2024 |
| publisher | AUC Knowledge Fountain |
| publisherStr | AUC Knowledge Fountain |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress |
| spelling | oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-3370 Unlocking Prosperity: The Role of ICTs in Alleviating Poverty in Middle East and Africa ElNemr, Yousra Most countries in the Middle East and Africa region (MEA) have recently witnessed digital improvements despite the increase in poverty rates. This thesis investigates the potential relationship of Information and Communication Technologies and poverty reduction using annual unbalanced panel data for 21 MENA countries and 48 Sub Saharan African (SSA) countries from 1990 to 2022. By focusing on two primary ICT indicators representing ICT usage and access—internet penetration and mobile subscriptions— our research applies Fixed-Effects Two Stage Least Square (2SLS) economic model to explore their relationship with the poverty headcount ratio at the $2.15 per day international poverty line. The 2SLS results suggest a significant, negative correlation between ICT and the poverty headcount ratio in MEA countries. In other words, an improvement in both the internet access and the mobile usage is associated with a significant decrease in the poverty headcount ratio, controlling for other variables. These results are robust to different estimation techniques. 2024-06-12T07:00:00Z thesis application/pdf https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2326 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/3370/viewcontent/Unlocking_prosperity__The_Role_of_ICTs_in_Alleviating_Poverty.pdf Theses and Dissertations AUC Knowledge Fountain Poverty Alleviation ICTs |
| spellingShingle | Poverty Alleviation ICTs ElNemr, Yousra Unlocking Prosperity: The Role of ICTs in Alleviating Poverty in Middle East and Africa |
| title | Unlocking Prosperity: The Role of ICTs in Alleviating Poverty in Middle East and Africa |
| title_full | Unlocking Prosperity: The Role of ICTs in Alleviating Poverty in Middle East and Africa |
| title_fullStr | Unlocking Prosperity: The Role of ICTs in Alleviating Poverty in Middle East and Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unlocking Prosperity: The Role of ICTs in Alleviating Poverty in Middle East and Africa |
| title_short | Unlocking Prosperity: The Role of ICTs in Alleviating Poverty in Middle East and Africa |
| title_sort | unlocking prosperity the role of icts in alleviating poverty in middle east and africa |
| topic | Poverty Alleviation ICTs |
| url | https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2326 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/3370/viewcontent/Unlocking_prosperity__The_Role_of_ICTs_in_Alleviating_Poverty.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT elnemryousra unlockingprosperitytheroleofictsinalleviatingpovertyinmiddleeastandafrica |