Theoretical and Applied Economics
No. 1 / 2026 (646), Spring
Effect of information and communication technologies on life expectancy and under-five mortality in WAEMU countries
Thomas SANKARA University, Burkina Faso
Pousbila DIANDA
Thomas SANKARA University, Burkina Faso
Abstract. Increased life expectancy and reduced infant mortality indicate that the societies concerned are generally progressing towards sustainable development. This study therefore examines the effects of ICT, measured by internet coverage rates and mobile and fixed-line telephone penetration rates, on life expectancy and under-five mortality within the WAEMU region. Our analysis, based on secondary data covering the period from 2000 to 2023, thus makes a significant contribution to knowledge in this area. Empirical estimation was performed using the Driscoll-Kraay standard error method to simultaneously correct for cross-sectional dependence, heteroscedasticity, and autocorrelation in the data panel. In parallel, the use of the two-step least squares (IV-2SLS) method with instrumental variables allows for the correction of potential endogeneity biases. Analyses demonstrate that the development of communication infrastructure (Internet, mobile and fixed telephony) significantly improves life expectancy at birth and significantly reduces under-five mortality within the WAEMU zone. At the same time, foreign direct investment, GDP per capita, education, and trade openness are emerging as major determinants that improve life expectancy and reduce under-five mortality. In terms of implications, WAEMU authorities should encourage telecommunications operators, through public-private partnerships (PPP), to extend broadband networks to remote areas to address the lack of healthcare infrastructure in these regions. Furthermore, tax breaks on end-user devices and data services are needed to facilitate access to health information for low-income households.
Contents
From paradox to opportunity: designing a hybrid REIT Model for Romania's emerging capital market
Human development inequality within and between selected SAARC countries using Mean Log Deviation MLD
The influence of renewable energy consumption and trade openness on carbon emissions in South Africa: an augmented autoregressive distributed lag method application
The hidden side of VAT: modeling compliance and inferring collection shortfalls in Romania
The dynamic nexus between oil price fluctuations, exchange rate volatility, and economic growth: empirical evidence from Algeria
Does unemployment influence out-of-pocket health expenditures in sub-Saharan Africa countries? Evidence from the defactored instrumental variables method
From transposition to distortion: how OECD corporate governance principles were misapplied in Romanian state-owned enterprise legislation
Information transmission in the foreign exchange market: evidence from India
The evolution of green energy utilization in Romania
On the equivalence and nonequivalence of import subsidies and export subsidies
AI-simulated reciprocity and the narrowing of decision options within human attachment psychological architecture
Shockwaves abroad and the vulnerability of monetary policy: Morocco’s Central Bank response to geopolitical shocks and commodity price volatility
Impact of growth and tax on pollution in the presence of corruption
Heterogeneous effect of financial inclusion on economic complexity in developing countries
Human ethics vs. algorithmic ethics: the limits of automating moral decision-making
Migrants remittances and economic growth in Morocco: A VAR model analysis
Determinants of inflation in Romania: A VAR approach
Effect of information and communication technologies on life expectancy and under-five mortality in WAEMU countries
Application of PHH and PHE model to Investigative FDI inflows effects on CO2 emissions in developing countries (OECD & BRICS)
Internal vs external migration: comparative patterns within the EU