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Abstract

The increasing reliance on digital technologies in education has intensified concerns regarding unequal access to digital resources across countries, particularly in developing regions. While digital connectivity has the potential to enhance learning opportunities, disparities in internet access and technological infrastructure may contribute to unequal educational outcomes. This study examines the relationship between the digital divide and educational inequality in Asia through a cross-country secondary data analysis of connectivity, access, and student achievement. Using publicly available datasets from the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the study analyzes key indicators of internet access, digital infrastructure, student achievement, and educational inequality across selected Asian countries. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple regression models were employed to examine structural associations among variables. The results indicate that internet access is positively associated with student achievement and negatively associated with educational inequality. Digital infrastructure also demonstrates positive associations with educational performance and lower levels of inequality. In contrast, rural population is negatively associated with student achievement and positively associated with educational inequality. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of digital connectivity and technological capacity in shaping both the quality and equity dimensions of education systems across diverse national contexts.

Author Biographies

Mhel Cedric D. Bendo, Polytechnic University of the Philippines–Maragondon Campus

Mhel Cedric D. Bendo is a student researcher and academic writer pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship at Polytechnic University of the Philippines–Maragondon Campus. His research interests include mobile learning, digital learning environments, AI in education, educational psychology, curriculum studies, educational assessment, and financial technology (FinTech). He serves on the editorial boards of the SIAR-Global Journal of Humanities, Management & Educational Review, SIAR-Global Journal of Literatures & Educational Review, the International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Exploration (IJMRE), and the International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Application (IJAMA), and also works as a technical editor for an international academic journal. He is a reviewer for multiple international peer-reviewed journals, including Cogent Education (Taylor & Francis). He is an active researcher who has authored several studies published and forthcoming in international and Scopus-indexed journals, while his research-informed commentary has appeared in national and regional Philippine newspapers, including the Manila Bulletin.

Dr. Domar C. Alviar, National University–Manila

Domar C. Alviar is an Associate Professor at National University–Manila, where he is a 2026 Gawad Pantas awardee. He holds a Master of Development Communication and Doctor of Communication from the University of the Philippines Open University. A CHED-SIKAP scholar, his research interests include development communication, systems thinking, ethnomethodology and conversation analysis (EMCA), media ethics, law, and ethical artificial intelligence in education. He serves on the Steering Committee of the Philippine International Studies Organization (PHISO) and contributes to academic discussions on academic integrity, higher education, and ethical AI. He previously worked in Middle East and North Africa customs relations and international supply management and served as publications and communications editor at Adamson University. He writes the “Inside Academe” column for Tutubi.ph and contributes opinion articles to national broadsheets, including the Philippine Daily Inquirer and other publications.

This is the replication package for “Why Was the Wheel (Not) Used in the Andes? A Hypothesis Explaining the Slow Adoption of Wagon Transport and Evidence from Nineteenth-Century Colombia.” The package includes the data, code, and documentation necessary to reproduce the analyses, tables, and figures reported in the article.The study examines the slow adoption of wagon transport in the Andes through a threshold technology-adoption model calibrated with historical and physiological evidence on human, mule, and wagon transport costs. The data refer primarily to nineteenth-century Colombia and include information on transportation routes, route characteristics, traffic demand, energy-based transport costs, and the comparison between animal-pack transport and wagon-road transport.The replication files allow users to reproduce the model calibration, the construction of key variables, and the empirical and quantitative exercises used to evaluate why wagon transport became economically viable only after transport demand crossed a threshold sufficient to offset the fixed costs of wagon-road construction.

MCC’s $177.7 million Armenia Compact (2006-2011) funded the $8.4 million Rural Road Rehabilitation Project to improve the quality of 24 kilometers of rural roads. The project was designed on the theory that improved rural roads would reduce transportation costs, enhance residents’ access to markets and social infrastructure, and increase vehicular activity, thereby increasing employment opportunities (both short- and long-term) and agricultural investment and production, eventually resulting in increased household income. In addition, about a quarter of the project cost went to fund the design of 430 kilometers of rural roads that were subsequently rehabilitated by the World Bank and the Government of Armenia.

Study Type: Independent Evaluation

Study Status: Completed

Program at a Glance

• Program Name: Armenia Compact
• Program Type: Compact
• Region: Europe, Asia, and Pacific
• Country: Armenia
• Program Dates: September 30, 2006 – September 29, 2011

Study

General Metadata

• Contractor: Mathematica
• Sector: Transportation
• Intervention Type(s): Transport infrastructure
• Cross-Sector Theme(s): agriculture productivity
• Project Objective:The Objective of the Rural Road Rehabilitation Project is to expand the access of rural communities to agricultural markets, non-farm income opportunities and social infrastructure by improving the condition of rural roads.

Evaluation Methodology

• Evaluation Type: Impact
• Evaluation Methodology Type: Differences in Differences with matching
• Location Type: Rural

Milestones

• Contract Start: September 2006
• Evaluation Design Report Published: June 2010
• Interim Report Published: NA
• Final Data Package Published: April 2015
• Final Report Publication: February 2017

The World Cities Culture Forum, established in 2012, is a leading global network of civic leaders from over 40 creative cities across six continents, representing a combined population of over 245 million. The forum fosters collaborations to place culture at the core of urban development, addressing 21st-century challenges such as climate change, affordable workspaces, cultural tourism, and diversity in public spaces. Through its Global Summit, partnerships, and programs like the Leadership Exchange Programme and Digital Dialogue Masterclasses, the forum promotes cultural integration in city planning. The World Cities Culture Report 2022 provides comprehensive open-source data on culture, including over 60 datasets from 40 cities.

• Contextual Data: Includes demographics such as characteristics of the overall and working-age populations (including percent who were foreign born) and of the geographical area, such as the percentage of national population living in the city and the percentage of the area devoted to parks and other public green spaces.
• Cultural Infrastructure: Provides counts (and rates) of various facilities and venues, including art galleries, artists' studios, rehearsal spaces, bars, bookshops, cinemas, community centers, concert halls, museums, nightclubs, libraries, video game arcades, and theatres.
• Participation and Tourism: Focuses on cultural participation metrics, such as cinema and theatre admissions, festival attendance, museum visits, average daily attendance at the top five art exhibits, and international tourist numbers.
• Creative Economy: Encompasses data on book publishing, creative industries employment, film festivals, restaurant ratings, and performances.
• Education: Includes statistics on public library book loans, higher education levels, international student enrollment, and specialist institutes in art and design education.

The source for each number is identified within the dataset. Data users can freely download selected datasets as .csv files.

A Data Guide for this study is available as a web page and for download. The India Human Development Survey-II (IHDS-II), 2011-12 is a nationally representative, multi-topic survey of 42,152 households in 1,503 villages and 971 urban neighborhoods across India. These data are mostly re-interviews of households interviewed for IHDS-I (ICPSR 22626) in 2004-05. Two one-hour interviews in each household covered topics concerning health, education, employment, economic status, marriage, fertility, gender relations, social capital, village infrastructure, wage levels, and panchayat composition. Children aged 8-11 completed short reading, writing and arithmetic tests.

The IHDS-II data are assembled in fourteen datasets:

1. Individual
2. Household
3. Eligible Women
4. Birth History
5. Medical Staff
6. Medical Facilities
7. Non Resident
8. School Staff
9. School Facilities
10. Wage and Salary
11. Tracking
12. Village
13. Village Panchayat
14. Village Respondent

The Eurobarometer series is a unique cross-national and cross-temporal survey program conducted on behalf of the European Commission. These surveys regularly monitor public opinion in the European Union (EU) member countries and consist of standard modules and special topic modules. The standard modules address attitudes towards European unification, institutions and policies, measurements for general socio-political orientations, as well as respondent and household demographics. The special topic modules address such topics as agriculture, education, natural environment and resources, public health, public safety and crime, and science and technology. This round of Eurobarometer surveys covers the following special topics:(1) Quality of Transport, (2) Cyber Security, (3) Value Added Tax, and (4) Public Health.

Respondents' opinions were collected regarding common forms of transportation, status of infrastructure in the respondent's country, reasons for using various forms of transportation, the use of autonomous vehicles, frequency and purpose of travel, and issues affecting rail, air, sea, and road transportation. Additional questions were asked regarding risks of cyber crime, respondents' use of the internet, how cyber security concerns have altered respondents' online behavior, prevention of online harassment of household children, and concern about and experience with being victimized in cyber crime. Respondents were also asked about the Value Added Tax (VAT) and how often they purchased goods from other EU member states. Further questions include knowledge of information regarding reimbursement for healthcare, and respondents' willingness to and opinions of policies related to blood, tissue, and organ donation.

Demographic and other background information collected includes age, gender, nationality, marital status, occupation, left-right political self-placement, age when stopped full-time education, household composition, ownership of a fixed or mobile telephone and other durable goods, difficulties in paying bills, self-assessed level in society, self-assessed social class, and Internet use. In addition, country-specific data includes type and size of locality, region of residence, and language of interview.