The heterogeneous effects of human development and good governance on mobile diffusion in the sub-Saharan region: Evidence from panel quantile regression

Abstract

This methodological-theoretical study aims to tackle the predominant assumption of mobile diffusion studies that relies too much on technological determinism by implementing various composite indices measuring qualitative factors such as human development and good governance through panel quantile regression with fixed effect in the context of the sub-Saharan region. Our statistical results show that the effect of the independent variables on mobile diffusion is heterogeneous across quantiles. Specifically, (a) the effect of human development is positively associated with all quantiles, which supports the legitimacy of inclusion of qualitative factors when understanding mobile diffusion of the sub-Saharan region; and (b) the results also show that government capacity to create a better environment for business on mobile diffusion is clearly heterogeneous, and the effects are mixed. This study is to provide associational evidence between mobile diffusion and various qualitative indicators through social constructivists' perspectives. The results indicate that it is not necessary to see technological determinism and the social construction of technology as a pair of absolute opposites. Rather, heterogeneous variables from both sides can be mixed to discover new understandings of the impacts of technology diffusion.