Title: Climate change, internet and the cotton yield gap between African countries and the rest of the world

Abstract

This paper analyzes the effects of climate change and internet access on cotton yield gaps between African countries and other producing countries over the period 1995-2019. Drawing on the economic literature, econometric results, obtained using a Kr฀ger & Hartmann (2021) decomposition model, reveal that African countries lag behind other producing countries in cotton yield. Increased temperature variation, improved levels of education, and internet access are likely to reduce this gap. On the other hand, rising temperatures do not help to reduce this gap.