The relationship between digitalization and economic development: Selected country examples

The concept of development is a phenomenon that deals with qualitative increase beyond quantitative increase. In this context; The subject of development mainly consists of economic, social and cultural change. The primary aim of the countries is to increase the quality of their community welfare . It has become essential to ensure and sustain economic development, especially for developing countries. Today, the concepts of digitalization and digital transformation are pretty much associated with the economic development of countries and are considered decisive indicators in economic development. Developments in information and communication technologies have rendered digitalization and digital transformation essential for countries. Smartphones, tablets, laptops, robots, artificial intelligence, virtual currencies, virtual markets, e-government, e-services are concepts that we frequently encounter in our daily lives. Digitalization, which is considered the advanced dimension of technology, has both economic and social effects. It is accepted that with digitalization, welfare in countries and people's quality of life increases. Additionally, it is a matter of debate whether the relationship between digitalization and development is similar for all countries. Especially in countries rich in natural resources, the issue of whether natural resources increase the welfare and wealth of the country remains important in the literature. In this context, this thesis examines the countries that are rich in natural resources but have low economic development (Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates) and the countries with high development rates (Norway, South Korea, Japan, Switzerland, the United States, Germany). ) and tries to reveal the relationship between digitalization and development. The study consists of four parts. In the first part of the study, digitalization, digital transformation and digital economy issues are explained conceptually. In the second part, development theories are included and the concept of growth without development, the natural resource curse hypothesis, the relationship between development and digitalization are discussed. In the third part, the empirical relationship between digitalization and economic development was examined with Konya (2006) causality test. In the last part, a general evaluation was made within the scope of the findings. . The findings from the analysis show that the relationship between digitalization and development in Group 1 countries (Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates), which are rich in natural resources, is at a lower grade than Group 2 countries (Norway, South Korea, Japan, Switzerland, the United States, Germany).