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Impacts Of Information And Communication Technologies On Country Development: Accounting For Area Interrelationships, Robert J. Kauffman, Ajay Kumar

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Single-item composite indices gauge ICT readiness at the country level but do not represent the direct impact of ICTs on a country's development. This paper describes a new approach to measuring the macrolevel impacts of ICTs across a range of development areas. The indirect effects of one area on others is taken into consideration by a simultaneous equation model that permits the inclusion of multiple development areas. The model is applied to data pertaining to four development areas in 64 countries: trade flows, agricultural productivity, R&D, and quality of life. ICT readiness is found to have a positive association with …