Original scientific paper

https://doi.org/10.18045/zbefri.2022.1.9

How does the ICT affect human development? Evidence from developing vs. developed countries

Zoran Ježić orcid.org/0000-0002-6852-8747
Petra Adelajda Zaninović orcid.org/0000-0002-0741-4826
Renee Škulić orcid.org/0000-0002-4823-9980

Abstract

This study aims to assess the impact of information and communication technology
(ICT) on human development (measured with the human development index – HDI).
The authors have analyzed the countries with different development levels in order to
identify the possible differences in these impacts when observing the level of income
(development of the country). Based on a static panel data regression analysis, the
study applies the fixed-effects estimator (FE). To address the possible endogeneity
problem caused by reverse causality, we also perform a dynamic panel data
regression using the Generalized Methods of Moments (GMM) estimator. The results
support our hypothesis and show that ICT use and tertiary education positively
affect human development, although the results vary by estimator. While in the case
of the FE estimator, the effects are significant and positive across all observed
countries, the results with the GMM estimators show a significant impact of ICT only
in the case of upper-middle-income countries. However, it also implies that the
lagged value of the HDI has significant and positive effects on the observed HDI.
For economic policy, the results pinpoint the importance of ICT as a relevant
instrument that can positively influence people’s lives directly or indirectly.

Keywords

ICT; human development; tertiary education; SDGs; panel data analysis; fixed effects; GMM

Hrčak ID:

279902

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/279902

Publication date:

30.6.2022.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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