The effect of information and communication technologies indicators on economic growth: The case of developing countries

Information and telecommunications technologies are one of the most influential forces that shaped the late twentieth century. Through globalization and the transition to a free market economy, countries have been involved in integration movements among themselves in many ways. In particular, the spread of internet use has eliminated physical borders between countries and led to a further increase in interaction between people. Information And Communication Technologies (ICT) are developing all over the world with the rapid spread of information. ICT sector developments affects some macroeconomic variables such as foreign trade, growth and employment. In this study, the effect of ICT indicators on economic growth was investigated. This study on 41 developing countries covers the period 2004-2019. As an empirical BIT indicator, the variables landline phone users (per 100 people), mobile cellular subscription users (per 100 people) and internet users (%of the population) were used. According to the results of the analysis using the two-stage system generalized moments method (GMM), it was concluded that the use of ICT indicators had a statistically significant and positive effect on economic growth in 41 developing countries.