The impact of digitalization on ekonomic growth in Türkiye and selected EU member countri̇es

This study originates from the concept of globalization. Particularly, in the globalizing economy, mass media, the internet, and technological developments are of great importance. Looking back 100 years, large companies generally stood out with their heavy industry and automotive investments. However, today, technology companies investing in digital platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon rank at the top. Economic wars, which are constantly on the agenda today, are instantly reported through digital platforms across all countries worldwide, and their effects impact national economies in just as short a time. A digital transformation process began with the 2007-2008 global financial crisis and accelerated with Covid-19. In this context, the effects of digitalization on economic growth have been examined using data from our country's economy and four selected EU countries. An analysis of the digitalization status of both Turkey and the selected EU countries has been attempted. In this way, efforts have been made to identify our weak or insufficient aspects for economic growth and development. Thus, in this age of the internet, the aim is to offer the most effective and efficient beneficial insights. In the first stage, an analysis was conducted for 4 EU countries using World Bank data from the 2005-2022 period through the Fixed Effects Driscall-Kraay Standard Errors Estimator. Information and communication technology usage, mobile phone subscriptions, broadband subscriptions, and internet subscriptions were considered as digital economy indicators. The findings revealed that ICT usage, mobile phone subscriptions, and internet usage positively and statistically significantly affect economic growth. In contrast, the impact of broadband subscriptions on economic growth was found to be negative. These results indicate that the digital economy has significant effects on economic growth and provide an important framework for policymakers. In this context, promoting the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), creating employment opportunities in this field, ensuring ease and equality in technological access, and expanding the internet usage network can be considered important policy recommendations. Digitalization, one of the most prominent features of the twenty-first century, is causing profound transformations in economic processes. This transformation plays a critical role in determining national competitiveness and shaping economic growth dynamics. The main aim of this study is to comprehensively analyze the effects of digitalization on economic growth in Turkey and selected European Union (EU) member countries and to offer a comparative perspective between these countries. The effects of digitalization on economic growth constitute a broad and dynamic research area. Various studies in the literature emphasize that digitalization makes significant positive contributions to economic growth by increasing productivity, enabling the emergence of innovative business models, and promoting innovation. However, the literature also draws attention to the potential negative effects of the digitalization process, such as deepening inequalities, leading to structural changes in the labor market, and increasing cybersecurity risks. In this context, this study aims to contribute to the literature by empirically examining the multifaceted effects of digitalization on economic growth.