Impact of Information and Communication Technology Infrastructure on Economic Growth: An Empirical Assessment for the EU Countries

Abstract

The accelerated development of information and communication technology (ICT) over the past two decades has encouraged an increasing number of researchers to examine and measure the impact of this technology on economic growth. Our study aims to identify and evaluate the effect of using ICT infrastructure on economic growth in European Union (EU) countries for a period of 18 years (2000–2017). Using panel-data estimation techniques, we investigate empirically how various indicators of ICT infrastructure affect economic growth, proxied in our study by GDP per capita. Within the estimates, we have included some macroeconomic control variables. Our results indicate a positive and strongly effect of using ICT infrastructure on economic growth in the EU member states, but the magnitude of the effect differs depending on the type of technology examined. Regarding the impact of macroeconomic factors, our estimates indicate that inflation rate, unemployment rate, the degree of trade openness, government expenditures, and foreign direct investments would significantly affect GDP per capita at EU level. The findings are broadly similar to the theoretical predictions, but also to the findings of some relevant empirical studies. Our research reveals that ICT infrastructure, along with other macroeconomic factors, is an important driver of economic growth in EU countries.

Is Sustainable Economic Development Possible Thanks to the Deployment of ICT?

“…Along the same lines, Toader, Firtescu, Roman, and Anton [32] identify a number of investigations that show the positive impacts of ICT on the economy as a whole. For our study, we chose those directly related to sustainable development (Table 1).…”

“…[35] Access of human capital through teleworking [36] Fast and effective business communication: reducing costs and increasing productivity. [37] Source: Toader, Firtescu, Roman, and Anton (2018) [32].…”

Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Adoption in Asian Countries: An Empirical Evidence of Economic and Socio-Cultural Factors

“…In many works of literature, GDP has been widely known as a predictor of ICT adoption in many countries. Toader, Firtescu, Roman, and Anton (2018) argued that GDP played a significant role in ICT adoption. Similarly, Mimbi and Bankole (2016) found that the greater the GDP of a country was, the higher the adoption and usage of ICT were.…”

Foreign direct investment, information and communication technology, trade, and economic growth in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries: An empirical insight

“…ICT is the use of electronic and computer-based technologies to access information and is used to connect and communicate with the rest of the world. During the previous two decades, a significant number of studies have been conducted to focus on the influence of ICT development on the growth of productivity (Chun & Nadiri, 2008;Timmer & Van Ark, 2005) and also on the expansion of economic activities and growth (Mansell & Wehn, 1998;Pohjola, 2000;Ishida, 2015;Erumban & Das, 2016;Toader, Firtescu, Roman, & Anton, 2018;Bahrini & Qaffas, 2019).…”