Investment in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and its Payoff in Malaysia

Information and communication technologies (ICT) have become the key drivers for socioeconomic development in recent years. This paper provides an empirical examination on the impact of ICT on Malaysian economic growth over the period 1975-2002 by using secondary data. Real GDP has been used as the dependent variable with three independent variables, namely, investment on ICT, non-ICT investment, and total labor employed in the economy. The unrestricted error correction method (UECM) and the cointegration bounds test revealed that the ICT had contributed positively to Malaysia's economic growth over the study period. The empirical result reflects the benefits gained from the immense ICT-based investment made in the country over the years. Further, several policy recommendations are discussed on how Malaysia can achieve better economic growth by leveraging of ICT.