Digitalisation and economic growth in G-20 countries: a panel ardl analysis

Abstract

The 4th industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0 for short, has been ushered in by technological improvements over the past 30 years. As a result, the growing trend of digitalization has had a distinctly beneficial effect on economic growth, particularly in the banking and financial sector where it has increased productivity and efficiency due to reduced information asymmetry and by making financial services more widely available and reasonably priced for a wider range of people. Keeping in mind the notable benefits brought about by rising digital advancements and its impact on financial sector, this study aims to show the dynamic relationship between digitalization, financial inclusion and economic growth for G20 nations. We used the annual data for the time span of 2010 to 2020 for G20 countries and has used panel ARDL approach for the analysis. The panel ARDL technique reveals a positive correlation between digitalization and long-term economic growth. Conversely, the research findings indicate a negative relationship between them in the short run. Similarly, we spot an detrimental long-term association between financial inclusion, measured as the number of commercial bank branches, and economic growth. The study also comes to the conclusion that, in the short and long terms, respectively, population and gross-fixed capital formation have an impact on economic growth. Further, we have checked the robustness of our results by using internet usage as proxy for digitalization. The finding in this case proves the robustness of our study. Based on our study, we suggest that widespread digitalization and financial inclusion along with the introduction of FinTech might contribute to sustainable economic growth from a policy perspective.