An analysis on the relationship between ICT, financial development and economic growth: Evidence from Asian developing countries

This study examines the effect of ICT progress on economic growth by constructing an ICT diffusion index. Along with ICT, this study further investigates the role of financial development and the combined impact of ICT and financial development on growth in 10 Asian developing economies covering the period 2001–2017. To analyze the panel data, this study employed the ARDL model and estimated the Pooled Mean Group estimator. The estimated results reveal a significant positive long-run relationship between financial expansion and economic progress. While ICT hurts economic growth on its own, it has a significant positive impact when combined with financial development. The robustness of the results has been verified by Fully-Modified OLS (FMOLS) and Dynamic OLS (DOLS) estimations. To promote enduring economic growth in Asian developing countries, the paper recommends ensuring inclusive financial development combined with modern ICT.