Information Communication Technology and Infant Mortality in Low-Income Countries: Empirical Study Using Panel Data Models

Issam Khelfaoui, Yuantao Xie, Muhammad Hafeez, Danish Ahmed, Houssem Eddine Degha and Hicham Meskher
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Issam Khelfaoui: School of Insurance and Economics, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing 100029, China
Yuantao Xie: School of Insurance and Economics, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing 100029, China
Muhammad Hafeez: Institute of Business and Management Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
Danish Ahmed: School of Finance and Economics, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Houssem Eddine Degha: Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Université de Ghardaia, Ghardaia 47000, Algeria
Hicham Meskher: Kasdi Merbah University, Ouargla 30000, Algeria

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 12, 1-24

Abstract: According to the World Health Organization, lower-income countries suffer from adverse health issues more than higher-income countries. Information and communication technologies (ICT) have the potential to resolve these issues. Previous research has analyzed the theoretical and empirical causal effects of ICT on infant mortality at country-specific and global levels for a short period of time. However, the causes and results could be different in low-income countries. The objective of this paper was to examine the deficiencies through the use of panel data from 27 low-income countries from 2000–2017. We applied the predictive mean matching technique to supplement the missing data and then used panel data techniques (i.e., fixed effects (FE) and pooled common correlated effects (PCCE)), and system-GMM to estimate the causal effects. We compared the consistency and the possible heterogeneity of previous results using a set of robust techniques and empirical tests. We found that internet access and, to a lesser extent, cellular mobile subscriptions, two of the three ICT variables used in our research, had a significant positive effect on reducing infant mortality in low-income countries. In conclusion, governments and policymakers of low-income countries should consider the availability of internet-related ICT innovations and make them nationally accessible to reduce health crises such as the infant mortality rate.

Keywords: health; infant mortality; ICT; PMM; panel regression; low-income countries; Driscol–Kraay; instrumental variables IV; pooled common correlated effects PCCE (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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