Information Communication Technology and Its Impact on the Economic Growth of Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the impact of information communication technology, using the internet usage and telephone subscription as a proxy on economic growth in Nigeria between 1996 and 2020. Auto Regressive Distribution lag (ARDL) method of estimation was used to achieve the objective of the study. Empirical findings established that, there exists a relationship between internet usage and telephone subscription on economic growth in Nigeria. Hence, the result shows that mobile telephone subscription has a positive and significant effect on economic growth both in short run and long run, while Internet Usage revealed a negative and insignificant relationship with the economic growth in Nigeria. Though it was expected that the result for Internet Usage should be positive and significant but it was otherwise; this could be as a result of numerous problems facing the Nigerian economy such as lack of power supply, high poverty lever and high ICT illiteracy rate. The key policy implication drawn from the result is that the underlined problems facing the economy need immediate and accurate intervention to experience the true dividend of internet access and its usage.