IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/telpol/v37y2013i4p252-261.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Financial development, ICT diffusion and economic growth: Lessons from MENA region

Author

Listed:
  • Sassi, Seifallah
  • Goaied, Mohamed

Abstract

This paper aims to test jointly two economic puzzles: the effect of financial development and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on economic growth. Theories predict a positive effect of financial development and ICT on growth but empirical studies on these relationships produced mixed results. Further, we investigate the interaction between financial development and ICT Diffusion to test whether the impact of financial development on growth is strengthened by better ICT infrastructure. In this paper we assess empirically these relationships in some MENA countries. The empirical study is based on estimation of a dynamic panel model with system GMM estimators. There are three main findings. First, our empirical results join empirical literature that find a negative direct effect of financial development on economic growth. This ambiguous relationship may be linked to many phenomenons but there are not yet clear explanations of this puzzle. Second, the estimates reveal a positive and significant direct effect of ICT proxies on economic growth. This implies that MENA countries need to reinforce their ICT policies and improve using of new Information and Communication Technology. Finally, the interaction between ICT penetration and financial development is found positive and significant in the growth regression. This implies that economies in Mena region can benefit from financial development only once a threshold of ICT development is reached.

Suggested Citation

  • Sassi, Seifallah & Goaied, Mohamed, 2013. "Financial development, ICT diffusion and economic growth: Lessons from MENA region," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 252-261.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:telpol:v:37:y:2013:i:4:p:252-261
    DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2012.12.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308596112002054
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.telpol.2012.12.004?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lars-Hendrik Roller & Leonard Waverman, 2001. "Telecommunications Infrastructure and Economic Development: A Simultaneous Approach," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 909-923, September.
    2. Arellano, Manuel & Bover, Olympia, 1995. "Another look at the instrumental variable estimation of error-components models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 29-51, July.
    3. Robert J. Barro, 1998. "Determinants of Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Empirical Study," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262522543, December.
    4. De Gregorio, Jose & Guidotti, Pablo E., 1995. "Financial development and economic growth," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 433-448, March.
    5. Arestis, Philip & Demetriades, Panicos O & Luintel, Kul B, 2001. "Financial Development and Economic Growth: The Role of Stock Markets," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 33(1), pages 16-41, February.
    6. Ross Levine, 1997. "Financial Development and Economic Growth: Views and Agenda," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(2), pages 688-726, June.
    7. Sanjeev Dewan & Kenneth L. Kraemer, 2000. "Information Technology and Productivity: Evidence from Country-Level Data," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 46(4), pages 548-562, April.
    8. Ross Levine & Norman Loayza & Thorsten Beck, 2002. "Financial Intermediation and Growth: Causality and Causes," Central Banking, Analysis, and Economic Policies Book Series, in: Leonardo Hernández & Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel & Norman Loayza (Series Editor) & Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel (Se (ed.),Banking, Financial Integration, and International Crises, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 2, pages 031-084, Central Bank of Chile.
    9. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    10. Anzoategui Diego & Martinez Peria Maria S. & Rocha Roberto R, 2010. "Bank Competition in the Middle East and Northern Africa Region," Review of Middle East Economics and Finance, De Gruyter, vol. 6(2), pages 26-48, November.
    11. Hondroyiannis, George & Lolos, Sarantis & Papapetrou, Evangelia, 2005. "Financial markets and economic growth in Greece, 1986-1999," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 173-188, April.
    12. Vu, Khuong M., 2011. "ICT as a source of economic growth in the information age: Empirical evidence from the 1996-2005 period," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 357-372, May.
    13. Samia Satti O. M. Nour, 2002. "The Impact of ICT on Economic Development in The Arab World: A Comparative Study of Egypt and The Gulf Countries," Working Papers 0237, Economic Research Forum, revised 05 Dec 2002.
    14. Jeremy Grace & Charles Kenny & Christine Zhen-Wei Qiang & Jia Liu & Taylor Reynolds, 2003. "Information and Communication Technologies and Broad-Based Development : A Partial Review of the Evidence," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 15053, December.
    15. Nieuwerburgh, Stijn Van & Buelens, Frans & Cuyvers, Ludo, 2006. "Stock market development and economic growth in Belgium," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 13-38, January.
    16. Marcelo Soto, 2009. "System GMM Estimation With A Small Sample," UFAE and IAE Working Papers 780.09, Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC).
    17. Luintel, Kul B. & Khan, Mosahid, 1999. "A quantitative reassessment of the finance-growth nexus: evidence from a multivariate VAR," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(2), pages 381-405, December.
    18. Nuno Carlos LEITÃO, 2010. "Financial Development and Economic Growth: A Panel Data Approach," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania - AGER, vol. 10(10(551)), pages 15-24, October.
    19. Stijn Claessens & Simeon Djankov & Joseph P. H. Fan & Larry H. P. Lang, 2002. "Disentangling the Incentive and Entrenchment Effects of Large Shareholdings," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(6), pages 2741-2771, December.
    20. Farkhanda Shamim, 2007. "The ICT environment, financial sector and economic growth: a cross‐country analysis," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 34(4), pages 352-370, September.
    21. Thomas Barnebeck Andersen & Finn Tarp, 2003. "Financial liberalization, financial development and economic growth in LDCs," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(2), pages 189-209.
    22. Mr. Kangni R Kpodar & Mihasonirina Andrianaivo, 2011. "ICT, Financial Inclusion, and Growth: Evidence from African Countries," IMF Working Papers 2011/073, International Monetary Fund.
    23. Seo, Hwan-Joo & Lee, Young Soo & Oh, Jeong Hun, 2009. "Does ICT investment widen the growth gap?," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(8), pages 422-431, September.
    24. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    25. Rati Ram, 1999. "Financial development and economic growth: Additional evidence," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(4), pages 164-174.
    26. Kangni Kpodar & Mihasonirina Andrianaivo, 2011. "ICT, Financial Inclusion and Growth: Evidence from African Countries," Post-Print halshs-00602411, HAL.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cheng, Chih-Yang & Chien, Mei-Se & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2021. "ICT diffusion, financial development, and economic growth: An international cross-country analysis," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 662-671.
    2. Amrita Chatterjee & Simontini Das, 2019. "Information and Communication Technology Diffusion and Financial Inclusion: An Interstate Analysis for India," Working Papers 2019-178, Madras School of Economics,Chennai,India.
    3. Tochukwu Timothy Okoli & Ajibola Rhoda Oluwafisayomi, 2019. "Investigating the Banking Sector Development Transmission Mechanism of Financial Development to Growth: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 11(2), pages 120-131.
    4. Raéf Bahrini & Alaa A. Qaffas, 2019. "Impact of Information and Communication Technology on Economic Growth: Evidence from Developing Countries," Economies, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-13, March.
    5. Vu, Khuong M & Asongu, Simplice, 2020. "Backwardness advantage and economic growth in the information age: A cross-country empirical study," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    6. M. Tariq Majeed & Ayesha Noreen, 2018. "Financial Development and Output Volatility: A Cross-Sectional Panel Data Analysis," Lahore Journal of Economics, Department of Economics, The Lahore School of Economics, vol. 23(1), pages 97-141, Jan-June.
    7. Anupam Das & Murshed Chowdhury & Sariah Seaborn, 2018. "ICT Diffusion, Financial Development and Economic Growth: New Evidence from Low and Lower Middle-Income Countries," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 9(3), pages 928-947, September.
    8. Abdulqadir, Idris A. & Asongu, Simplice A., 2022. "The asymmetric effect of internet access on economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 44-61.
    9. Sylviane Guillaumont Jeanneney & Kangni Kpodar, 2006. "Développement financier, instabilité financière et croissance économique," Economie & Prévision, La Documentation Française, vol. 0(3), pages 87-111.
    10. Felix Rioja & Neven Valev, 2004. "Finance and the Sources of Growth at Various Stages of Economic Development," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 42(1), pages 127-140, January.
    11. Laurent Cavenaile & Christian Gengenbach & Franz Palm, 2014. "Stock Markets, Banks and Long Run Economic Growth: A Panel Cointegration-Based Analysis," De Economist, Springer, vol. 162(1), pages 19-40, March.
    12. Levine, Ross, 2005. "Finance and Growth: Theory and Evidence," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 12, pages 865-934, Elsevier.
    13. Thorsten Beck, 2009. "The Econometrics of Finance and Growth," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Terence C. Mills & Kerry Patterson (ed.), Palgrave Handbook of Econometrics, chapter 25, pages 1180-1209, Palgrave Macmillan.
    14. Zaiter Lahimer, Mahjouba, 2011. "L’impact des entrées de capitaux privés sur la croissance économique dans les pays en développement," Economics Thesis from University Paris Dauphine, Paris Dauphine University, number 123456789/7670 edited by Sterdyniak, Henri.
    15. Amrita Chatterjee & Nitigya Anand, "undated". "Financial Inclusion, Information and Communication Technology Diffusion and Economic Growth: A Panel Data Analysis," Working Papers 2017-165, Madras School of Economics,Chennai,India.
    16. Naceur, Samy Ben & Ghazouani, Samir, 2007. "Stock markets, banks, and economic growth: Empirical evidence from the MENA region," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 297-315, June.
    17. Marszk, Adam & Lechman, Ewa, 2021. "Reshaping financial systems: The role of ICT in the diffusion of financial innovations – Recent evidence from European countries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    18. Vu, Khuong M., 2019. "The internet-growth link: An examination of studies with conflicting results and new evidence on the network effect," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(5), pages 474-483.
    19. repec:ipg:wpaper:2014-485 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Muhammad Shahbaz & Ijaz Ur Rehman & Ahmed Taneem Muzaffar, 2015. "Re-Visiting Financial Development and Economic Growth Nexus: The Role of Capitalization in Bangladesh," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 83(3), pages 452-471, September.
    21. Jean-Pierre Allegret & Sana Azzabi, 2012. "Développement financier, croissance de long terme et effets de seuil," Post-Print hal-01385862, HAL.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:telpol:v:37:y:2013:i:4:p:252-261. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/30471/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.