The Digital Gender Gap in ASEAN-10: Causes, Economic Consequences, and Spatial Spillovers

ABSTRACT: This study provides the first comprehensive empirical analysis of the digital gender gap (DGG) and its economic consequences across the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN-10) over 20102024. Because conventional System GMM is inadmissible at N=10, we deploy Cross-Sectionally Augmented ARDL (CS-ARDL) as our primary estimator, with Pooled Mean Group, Mean Group, and fixed-effects with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors as robustness checks. To capture cross-border externalities, we estimate Spatial Durbin Models with five alternative weighting matrices. A one-percentage-point reduction in the composite DGG index is associated with a long-run 0.81% rise in real GDP per capita, a 0.19 percentage-point rise in female labour force participation, and a 0.06 point decline in the Gini coefficient. Spatial decomposition attributes 32-38% of total effects to cross-border spillovers, and Hansen threshold tests identify a critical broadband penetration of 9.4 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants above which DGG effects intensify. Findings call for embedding genderdisaggregated targets in the successor to the ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025, leveraging the Digital Economy Framework Agreement to harmonize affordability provisions, and prioritizing infrastructure expansion in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar.