02029cas a2200253 a 4500 AALejournalIMF015941 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781513514604 1018-5941 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL Alper, Emre. Digital Connectivity in sub-Saharan Africa : A Comparative Perspective / Emre Alper, Michal Miktus. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2019. 1 online resource (44 pages) IMF Working Papers <strong>Off-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required <strong>On-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students Higher digital connectivity is expected to bring opportunities to leapfrog development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Experience within the region demonstrates that if there is an adequate digital infrastructure and a supportive business environment, new forms of business spring up and create jobs for the educated as well as the less educated. The paper first confirms the global digital divide through the unsupervised machine learning clustering K-means algorithm. Next, it derives a composite digital connectivity index, in the spirit of De Muro-Mazziotta-Pareto, for about 190 economies. Descriptive analysis shows that majority of SSA countries lag in digital connectivity, specifically in infrastructure, internet usage, and knowledge. Finally, using fractional logit regressions we document that better business enabling and regulatory environment, financial access, and urbanization are associated with higher digital connectivity. Mode of access: Internet Miktus, Michal. IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 2019/210 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/001/2019/210/001.2019.issue-210-en.xml IMF e-Library