The Impact of ICT on Service Trade

Abstract

While trade in goods has been investigated extensively over decades, studies on trade in services are relatively new. In this paper we investigate the impacts of information and communication technology (ICT) on trade in services . We measured ICT by four dimensions, including the subscriptions to broadband, fixed telephones, mobile phones and Internet. Our sample covered more than 200 countries, from 2005 to 2015. We employed the modified gravity model and found that all four dimensions had significant impacts on the expansion trade in services, but mobile subscriptions is the most consistent dimension. Finally the effects of ICT in exporting and importing countries are similar.