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Determinants of ICT infrastructure: A cross-country statistical analysis

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  • Krüger, Jens J.
  • Rhiel, Mathias

Abstract

We investigate economic and institutional determinants of ICT infrastructure for a broad cross section ofmore than 100 countries. The ICT variable is constructed from a principal components analysis. The explanatory variables are selected by variants of the Lasso estimator from the machine learning literature.In addition to least squares, we also apply robust and semiparametric regression estimators. The results show that the regressions are able to explain ICT infrastructure very well. Major determinants identified are real income per capita, the availability of electricity, the extent of urbanization and indicators for the quality of the institutional environment. We also find evidence of conditional convergence of the ICT infrastructure across countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Krüger, Jens J. & Rhiel, Mathias, 2016. "Determinants of ICT infrastructure: A cross-country statistical analysis," Darmstadt Discussion Papers in Economics 228, Darmstadt University of Technology, Department of Law and Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:darddp:228
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    determinants of ICT infrastructure; global digital divide; variable selection; machine learning; robust and semiparametric regression;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • L96 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Telecommunications
    • C52 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Model Evaluation, Validation, and Selection
    • C14 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General

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