Multidimensional Poverty and Technology Adoption in the Fourth Industrial Revolution Era: The Mediating Role of Higher Education

Résumé fourni par la source

Abstract Poverty in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) era has gone beyond lack of jobs and living below $2 per day to the extent of one’s deprivation. While technology created jobs and alleviated poverty in the first, second and third industrial revolutions, it is having a recursive effect on poverty alleviation in the 4IR as many skills have become obsolete and irrelevant in recent times, thereby giving rise to structural changes and IT compliant jobs. This is remarkable for emerging markets given their high susceptibility to supply shocks from technology adoption. Therefore, as Artificial Intelligence (AI) substitutes jobs, labour supply tends to rise astronomically above its demand, hence, labour market frictions and poverty will be inevitable. Consequently, this study argues that technology adoption in the 4IR era will rather worsen than alleviate poverty if not harnessed with proper human capital development. Therefore, this chapter focuses on ascertaining the level of poverty among 22 emerging economies as well as the mediating effect of education/literacy rate on the impact of technology on poverty in a structural equation model framework for 1990–2023 period. Results from the structural equation modelling (SEM) reveal that although technology measured in terms of mobile and internet banking could worsen poverty, higher education moderates this effect. The study therefore designed procedures with relevant policy thrust that could enhance the benefits from technology adoption without compromising labour market dynamics and productivity. Structural transformation and human capital development were recommended.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.