The relationship and comparative analysis of information and communication technologies development index and economic growth with panel data models

Knowledge has become a strategic power in economic growth and sustainable competition. It is considered as a factor that creates value in all fields, including economic, social, and political. Developments in technology together with knowledge is brought a new dimension to globalization and it revealed a process that requires restructuring in these areas. These developments, which become the key determinants of the transformation in the world, change the dimension of competition and lead to a paradigm shift in the economy. In the new paradigm, factors such as information production, technology, innovation, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), human capital, information communities are accepted as the fundamental building blocks of economic progress, growth activities and sustainable competition. In this respect, the countries that invest in human capital on the basis of ICT by producing information and converting the information that produced into technology can have the advantage of being a leader in the global arena as well as a sustainable competitive advantage. Only the countries that can adapt to the speed of these technologies and have necessary skills, infrastructure, and accessibility to use these technologies can benefit from the strong impact of ICT, which plays an important role in the process of producing, processing, sharing and using information. The widespread use of these technologies efficiently and effectively in the whole economy and in every part of the society increases the accumulation of physical and human capital. It also leads to decreases in costs along with productivity increases. In addition to this, it is accelerated economic growth by creating positive externalities and providing high labor productivity. In this study, the relationship between Information and Communication Technologies Development Index (ICTDEV-I) and economic growth are considered and the relationship is analyzed comparatively with panel data models. In this regard, it is aimed to determine the ICT development levels of the 80 countries, reveal the digital differences between the countries and evaluate the progress of ICT development levels of developed and developing countries in global and regional dimensions. For this purpose, the ICTDEV-I of 80 countries is calculated and the relationship between ICTDEV-I and economic growth are examined comparatively with the panel data models. The performance of countries in these technologies is evaluated. In particular for Turkey, when considering the ICT development and dynamics of Turkey, it is aimed to determine which indicators should be weighted in the index and which stage it is in comparison to the other countries. To this end, the economic, social and political infrastructure of Turkey to the creation of appropriate growth models and suggestions are made concerning the determination of corresponding policies.