Digital Infrastructure, Innovation, And Productivity Dynamics In Emerging Economies Evidence From Synthetic Multi-Country Enterprise Data (2010- 2022)
Keywords:
Digital Adoption, Innovation, Productivity, Spatial Spillovers, Dynamic Panel, Development EconomicsAbstract
This paper investigates the role of digital infrastructure and firm-level innovation in shaping productivity performance in emerging economies. Using a novel synthetic dataset inspired by multi-country Enterprise Surveys covering 12,400 firms across 92 regions in Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia between 2010 and 2022, we estimate a comprehensive suite of econometric models OLS, Fixed Effects, Random Effects, IV-2SLS, System GMM, and Spatial Econometric Models (SAR, SDM, SEM). Results indicate that innovation raises firm productivity by 5-12%, while digital adoption contributes an additional 10–15%, with strong complementarities between the two. Spatial spillover effects account for 30-42% of total innovation gains, demonstrating the importance of regional digital ecosystems. Robustness checks (placebo tests, alternative instruments, alternative spatial matrices, sub-sample analyses) confirm the stability of results. Policy implications highlight the need for digital infrastructure investment, managerial capability upgrading, and targeted innovation stimuli.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Daniel Ebenezer Silaban
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