Economic and Developmental Returns of Information and Communications Technology in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Information and communications technology has become linked to the development of societies in our present era. It is considered one of the most important means of transferring developing societies to more advanced societies, and investments in the field of information and communications technology are increasing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and this in turn leads to many economic and development impacts that may be unspecified or unclear. Therefore, this study sheds light on the explanation of some of these effects. A standard model was used for the relationship between the dependent variable, which is the GDP of ICT, and the independent variables under study in Saudi Arabia for the period (1992:2022), and the standard model equation was estimated using the least squares method, and the autoregressive distributed lags (ARDL) model to verify the existence of a long-term equilibrium relationship between... The independent variables and the GDP of ICT and verifying this relationship with the error correction model (ECM), where it was found that there is a positive relationship at the level between the ICT revenue variable and employment and the GDP of ICT, while the relationship was negative between them in slow periods (1, 2, 3) and in terms of 1%. There is a negative relationship between the employment variable and the GDP of ICT in slow periods (2, 3) and with a significance of 1%. There is a positive relationship at the level between the employment variable and the GDP of ICT with a significance rate of 1%. Therefore, the study recommends the following: paying attention to qualifying and training workers in the field of information and communications technology, encouraging more investments in the field of information and communications technology, and working to find a kind of geographical balance in the distribution of projects based on information and communications technology. Facilitating licensing procedures for companies wishing to invest in the field of information and communications technology.