Is there a relationship between ICT, health, education and development? An empirical analysis of five West African countries from 1997–2003

For more than a decade, key international organizations such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, the UN and International Telecommunications Union have argued that investment in information communication and telecommunication (ICT) infrastructure is a prerequisite for the development of poor countries. However, dissenting voices of the international development community argue that African governments should focus their attention on building schools, delivering basic health care, electricity and clean water rather than on the building of costly ICT infrastructure with their limited financial resources. In this paper, we present an analysis of the relationships among investments in ICT, Health Care and Education and the human development index on five West African nations. We use a Stepwise regression analysis to help unravel the complex relationships among these variables. Our results provide evidence that complementary investments in ICT, health and education can significantly increase development. Given that developing nations are making considerable investments in health care, education and ICT and that there are concerns over the type of investments they should make, our findings are a significant contribution to the literature.