Harnessing digital technologies for poverty reduction. Evidence for low-income and lower-middle income countries.

This paper contributes to understanding the relationship between ICT deployment and poverty alleviation in developing countries. It assess the digital technologies contribution to poverty reduction, through different channels of impact, like education, labor market, income and ICT-trade related activities. Using the sample of 40 developing countries between 1990 and 2019, it relies on macro data extracted from the World Bank Development Indicators (2021) and the World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database (2020). Methodological framework combines time trend analysis and locally weighted polynomial smoother, logistic growth model, and panel regression modelling techniques. Our major findings suggest growing ICT deployment, school enrolments, and increases in material wealth are significant drivers of poverty eradication in developing economies. However, the impact of digitalization on poverty is neither direct nor immediate. Therefore, we claim that national and local authorities, together with civil society must consider ICT as a key element of their broad development strategies. • It examines the impact of ICT on poverty reduction. • In shows the evidence for 40 low-income and lower-middle income economies. • It determines that ICT impacts poverty reduction, through income and education shift, and reducing labor market vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]