Spillover effects of the digital economy on economic growth in Africa

The rapid expansion of the digital economy in Africa over the past few decades has drawn the attention of this paper, which aims to analyse its spillover effects on the economic growth of African countries. Using the spatial Durbin model (SDM) on data from 46 African countries spanning the period 2010–2021, the estimation results indicate a positive spatial interdependence between countries in terms of the diffusion of the digital economy and economic growth. An improvement in the level of the digital economy in one country has a positive and significant influence on economic growth in that country and its neighbouring countries. For this reason, an improvement in the level of digital infrastructure and a strengthening of the level of integration of African countries are necessary for more sustained economic growth in Africa.