Remittance Inflow, Digital Technology and Human Development in Sub- Saharan Africa

Résumé

Money transfers from abroad serves as a significant source of finance to many households and countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have been hampered
by cost of transfers, amidst advancement in digital technologies. This study explores how remittance inflows and digital technology together impact wellbeing
improvement in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study employed the conditional panel quantile regression methods and a panel data of forty-five
(45) SSA countries from 2010 to 2022 for data analysis. The study found that the effect of remittance and digital technology on human development varies
across SSA countries. The study also found that the combine impact of money transfers from abroad and digital technology on human development has
noticeable variations across the lower HDI (25th quantile), middle HDI (50th quantile) and higher HDI (75th quantile) levels. This effect of remittance and
digital technology on human development and their interaction is higher for countries at the middle HDI level (50th quantile). The study concludes that as
remittances from abroad are becoming major sources of foreign financial inflows, harnessing the drivers of these remittance inflows is vital for
improvement in human developmental process in SSA. The study therefore recommends that to boost personal remittance inflow from abroad for
improvement in human development index amidst advancement in digital technologies, Sub-Saharan African countries should introduce consumer
oriented digital platforms for remittance services which should be adequately protected.