Politická ekonomie 2024, 72(3):446-477 | DOI: 10.18267/j.polek.1409

The Impacts of ICT on Economic Growth in the MENA Countries: Does Institutional Matter?

Mohammed N. Abu Alfoul ORCID..., Reza Tajaddini ORCID..., Hassan F. Gholipour ORCID..., Omar Bashar ORCID..., Fouad Jamaani ORCID...
Mohammed N. Abu Alfoul: Department of Computing Technologies and Data Analytics, Ezymart Corporation Pty Ltd, Sydney, Australia
Reza Tajaddini: School of Business, Law, and Entrepreneurship, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia
Hassan F. Gholipour: School of Business, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia
Omar Bashar: School of Business, Law, and Entrepreneurship, Swinburne University of Technology and Melbourne Polytechnic, Melbourne, Australia
Fouad Jamaani: Department of Economics and Finance, College of Business Administration, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia

This study investigates the effects of information and communications technology (ICT) on economic growth. Our study focuses on 16 MENA countries from 1995 to 2018. We examine not only the impact of ICT usage and investment but also the moderating role of the quality of national institutions shaping this relationship. The results obtained using the panel ARDL method suggest that while ICT usage drives economic growth, ICT investment alone has a limited effect. Moreover, our research confirms that higher-quality institutions boost the impact of ICT use and investment on economic expansion. These results are essential for policymakers who want to boost ICT's contribution to GDP growth.

Keywords: ICT usage, ICT investment, institutional quality, economic growth, panel regression, MENA
JEL classification: C23, E02, O43, O47, O53

Received: April 9, 2023; Revised: August 16, 2023; Accepted: August 21, 2023; Prepublished online: March 18, 2024; Published: June 24, 2024  Show citation

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Abu Alfoul, M.N., Tajaddini, R., Gholipour, H.F., Bashar, O., & Jamaani, F. (2024). The Impacts of ICT on Economic Growth in the MENA Countries: Does Institutional Matter? Politická ekonomie, 72(3), 446-477. doi: 10.18267/j.polek.1409
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