The role of the internet in moderating the effect of industrialization on income inequality in Africa

While the internet-income inequality nexus and the industrialization-income inequality relationship have been separately investigated, this present study looks at the moderating role of internet penetration in the relationship between industrialization and income inequality. The focus of the study is on a panel of 44 African countries over the period 2000-2020. The empirical evidence is based on the fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) estimation technique. The results show that while internet penetration has a negative and significant impact on income inequality, industrialization has a positive and significant impact on income inequality. Moreover, the interaction between industrialization and internet penetration exerts a positive and significant impact on income inequality. Policy implications are provided based on the findings of this study.