The impact of information and communication technologies on Turkish export performance

Countries have made an effort to increase existing level of technology in terms of economic growth and development, and for adapting the innovations created by globalization in economic, social and cultural fields. One of the most important conditions of technology is information. Therefore, putting emphasis on the information is not surprising. Both worldwide and in Turkey, there has been lots of studies focus on the economic impact of information and communication Technologies (ICT) for decades. These technologies affect the distribution and volume of foreign trade of the countries due to especially cost-reducing factors. This study analyzed the impact of ICT on Turkey's export performance by using the data for 200 countries and for the period 2007-2018. A standard gravity model is augmented with alternative variables for ICT. Main results of the analysis point out that ICT increases Turkey's exports. The main finding of this study is supported by the robustness check. Improving ICT infrastructure and providing incentives to the firms with ICT activity can be stated as policy recommendations based on the main finding of this thesis. Moreover, policy-makers should pay attention to the strength of the nexus of ICT and export. This is because it can matter according to regional trade agreements and income groups of the partner countries.