数字无障碍与减贫：全球视角

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES Alex O. Acheampong, Donghyun Park, and Shu Tian ADB ECONOMICSWORKING PAPER SERIES ADB Economics Working Paper Series Digital Accessibility and Poverty Reduction:Global Perspectives Alex O. Acheampong (aacheamp@bond.edu.au)is an associate professor at Bond Business School andCentre for Data Analytics, Bond University. DonghyunPark (dpark@adb.org) is an economic advisor andShu Tian (stian@adb.org) is a principal economist atthe Economic Research and Development ImpactDepartment, Asian Development Bank. Alex O. Acheampong, Donghyun Park,and Shu Tian No. 794 | August 2025 TheADB Economics Working Paper Seriespresents research in progress to elicit commentsand encourage debate on development issuesin Asia and the Pacific. The views expressedare those of the authors and do not necessarilyreflect the views and policies of ADB orits Board of Governors or the governmentsthey represent. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO) © 2025 Asian Development Bank6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City, 1550 Metro Manila, PhilippinesTel +63 2 8632 4444; Fax +63 2 8636 2444www.adb.org Some rights reserved. Published in 2025. ISSN 2313-6537 (print), 2313-6545 (PDF)Publication Stock No. WPS250308-2DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22617/WPS250308-2 The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policiesof the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for anyconsequence of their use. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers does not imply that theyare endorsed or recommended by ADB in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. By making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, ADB does notintend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. This publication is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/. By using the content of this publication, you agree to be boundby the terms of this license. For attribution, translations, adaptations, and permissions, please read the provisionsand terms of use at https://www.adb.org/terms-use#openaccess. This CC license does not apply to non-ADB copyright materials in this publication. If the material is attributedto another source, please contact the copyright owner or publisher of that source for permission to reproduce it.ADB cannot be held liable for any claims that arise as a result of your use of the material. Please contact pubsmarketing@adb.org if you have questions or comments with respect to content, or if you wishto obtain copyright permission for your intended use that does not fall within these terms, or for permission to usethe ADB logo. Corrigenda to ADB publications may be found at http://www.adb.org/publications/corrigenda. ABSTRACT This study investigates the poverty reduction gains that are associated with access to digitaltechnologies by using panel data based on 113 countries from 2000 to 2022. We address cross-sectional and temporal dependency with the Driscoll-Kraay technique, and endogeneity with theLewbel two-stage least squares technique. The results indicate that the digital technology accessindex—comprising broadband, telephone, mobile, and internet access—contributes to povertyreduction, with the effect being persistent. Except for mobile phone usage, the rest of the digitaltechnology proxies do not follow the critical mass hypothesis. Mediation analysis indicates thataccess to digital technologies contributes to poverty reduction by working through increasinggross domestic product per capita; accessing finance, education, and employment; and reducingincome inequality. The poverty reduction gains of digital technologies are evident in developingAsia, landlocked/island nations, coastal/non-island countries, and advanced economies, withbroadband and internet access contributing to poverty reduction during the coronavirus disease(COVID-19) pandemic. Given the role of digital technologies in strengthening resilience, we callonpolicymakers to invest in and expand digital connectivity,particularly to vulnerablecommunities. Keywords:digital technologies, poverty, inclusive growth, COVID-19, developing Asiancountries JEL codes:I30, O11, O30 I.INTRODUCTION The mantra “leave no one behind” is the core principle underpinning the 2030 Agenda forSustainable Development. This principle requires policymakers across the globe to ensure thewell-being of everyone. Many efforts have been put into the attainment of various SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs). However, about half of the SDGs targets, including SDG 1, which isthe goal of “no poverty” targets, are off-track. Over the past decades, extreme povert