Telecommunications investment and economic growth in ASEAN5: An assessment from UECM

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of telecommunications investment on the economic growth of the ASEAN5 countries namely, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, over the period 1975–2007. The unrestricted error correction model (UECM) and bounds testing approach are employed where a positive and significant long-run relationship is identified in the cases of Malaysia and Singapore. This is not the case for the other ASEAN5 countries. Granger non-causality testing indicates that telecommunications investment causes ASEAN5 economic growth but not vice versa.

Keywords:

• ICT-related investment
• telecommunications investment
• ASEAN
• UECM
• bounds test

Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the comments provided by the Editor and anonymous referees. Any remaining errors are our own.