Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

International Journal of Social Economics

Publication Date

1-1-2024

Abstract

Purpose: This research complements the extant literature on poverty and inequality by assessing the role of “virtual social networks” and “internet access in schools” in mitigating the incidence of inequality on poverty. Design/methodology/approach: Using secondary data, the focus of the study is on developing countries and the empirical evidence is based on Tobit regressions. Findings: The study shows that inequality unconditionally increases poverty while “virtual social networks” and “internet access in schools” negatively moderate the effect of inequality on poverty. An extended analysis provides thresholds of “virtual social networks” and “internet access in schools” at which, the unconditional positive effect of inequality on poverty is completely dampened and above which, negative incidences on poverty are apparent. These attendant information technology thresholds are below average levels in the sampled countries. Originality/value: The study complements that extant literature by assessing the role of virtual social networks and internet access in schools in mitigating the incidence of inequality on poverty in developing countries. Policy implications are discussed in the light of Sustainable Development Goals. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-09-2023-0695

ISSN

0306-8293

Publisher

Emerald

Disciplines

Business

Keywords

Inequality, Information technology, Poverty

Scopus ID

85196352544

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

yes

Open Access Type

Hybrid: This publication is openly available in a subscription-based journal/series

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