Internet, educational disparities, and economic growth: Differences between low-middle and high-income countries

Abstract

This paper examines the influence of educational inequality on the impacts of Internet use on economic growth. We use panel data estimations on a sample of 90 countries from 1995 to 2010. We find that Internet use has a positive impact on growth in both developing and developed countries. Furthermore, we also find that educational inequality negatively influences the impact of Internet use on economic growth, the effect being more significant in developing countries. The results highlight that in addition to the role played by the level of human capital, public policies should take into account the educational distribution to boost Internet use and favor its impacts on economic growth.