ICT and health outcome nexus in 30 selected Asian countries: Fresh evidence from panel data analysis

The present study is an attempt to examine the impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on the health outcome of 30 selected Asian countries over the period of 2000-2016. We have applied PCA technique to construct a weighted index of all the ICT drivers into a single factor, which is called the ICT Index and try to examine its relationship with health outcome. To attain this objective, the study applied Pedroni's cointegration technique to investigate the long run relationship among the selected variables. Subsequently, we have applied FMOLS and DOLS estimators to address the endogeneity and serial correlation problems in the model. Results of Pedroni's cointegration test show the existence of long-run relationship among the variables. The core findings of this study confirm the significant impact of ICT on health outcome in selected Asian countries. Based on the results, our study addresses some important issues related to ICT and suggests some important policy implications mainly for developing countries.