Information and communication technology and GDP per capita

Abstract

This paper examines statistically three hypotheses related to the link between Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, viz., firstly, GDP growth precedes growth in ICT; secondly, the relationship between GDP per capita and ICT will be positive and strong; and finally, ICT's economic impact on GDP per capita will rise over time. The statistical results using the ICT proxies of main telephone lines per thousand people (163 observations) and ICT expenditure per capita (49 observations), and data for the years 1995 and 2000, support all three hypotheses. Support for the third hypothesis calls for governments to invest more to raise the synergistic effects of ICT on GDP.