Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription or Fee Access

The Effect of the Internet on China’s Economic Growth: Evidence from Provincial Panel Data

Liwei Li, Wanxin Xue

Abstract


The goal of this paper is to examine whether internet will stimulate economic growth at the country level. This paper examines the relationship between internet and China’s economic growth by using the panel data of 31 provinces on internet user ratio and real GDP per capita from 2003 to 2011. Three steps are followed in the model process. In the first step, this paper investigates the integrational properties of the data and finds them to be integrated of order one. In the second step, using seven different panel cointegration tests, this paper finds enough evidence for cointegration among the two variables. In the third step, this paper estimates the equation using the data of 2003-2011, 2003-2006 and 2007-2011 respectively. This paper finds that the internet plays a positive role in China’s economic growth and the effect of internet on China’s economic growth is sensitive to model specification.10% increases in internet user ratio raise annual real GDP per capita growth by 1.38% in the long run, 0.85% from 2003 to 2006 and 1.80% after 2007 when using time and individual fixed effects model.

Keywords


Internet Diffusion, Economic Growth, Panel Data, China, Statistics.

Full Text:

PDF


Disclaimer/Regarding indexing issue:

We have provided the online access of all issues and papers to the indexing agencies (as given on journal web site). It’s depend on indexing agencies when, how and what manner they can index or not. Hence, we like to inform that on the basis of earlier indexing, we can’t predict the today or future indexing policy of third party (i.e. indexing agencies) as they have right to discontinue any journal at any time without prior information to the journal. So, please neither sends any question nor expects any answer from us on the behalf of third party i.e. indexing agencies.Hence, we will not issue any certificate or letter for indexing issue. Our role is just to provide the online access to them. So we do properly this and one can visit indexing agencies website to get the authentic information. Also: DOI is paid service which provided by a third party. We never mentioned that we go for this for our any journal. However, journal have no objection if author go directly for this paid DOI service.