TITLE:
Exploring the Association between Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and Quality of Life: A Panel Data Analysis
AUTHORS:
Wullianallur Raghupathi, Dongli Zhang
KEYWORDS:
Information and Communication Technologies, ICT, Quality of Life, Panel Data Analysis, Fixed Effects Regression, Digital Development, Living Conditions, Health Outcomes, Educational Outcomes, Digital Divide
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Applied Sciences,
Vol.16 No.5,
May
21,
2026
ABSTRACT: This study examines the relationship between Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and quality of life using panel data from 225 countries over 2010-2019. Employing two-way fixed effects regression with country and year fixed effects, we analyze associations between five ICT indicators—mobile cellular subscriptions, fixed telephone subscriptions, internet users, ICT goods exports, and ICT goods imports—and eight quality of life measures spanning living conditions, health, and educational outcomes. Our methodology addresses a key limitation of prior cross-sectional research by controlling for time-invariant country characteristics that may confound observed relationships. Results reveal that internet usage is robustly and positively associated with quality of life across multiple dimensions, with associations strongest in low-income countries where marginal benefits of digital connectivity appear greatest. Notably, ICT goods exports show consistent negative associations with quality of life, a pattern consistent with the view that export-oriented ICT manufacturing may not translate to domestic welfare improvements, though we caution that the ICT trade variables are share-of-trade composition proxies rather than direct measures of domestic ICT production or absorption. Mobile cellular and fixed telephone subscriptions, while strongly correlated with quality of life cross-sectionally, show limited significance in fixed effects models, indicating that previous findings may reflect confounding by unobserved country characteristics. These core findings survive robustness checks including lagged specifications and income group heterogeneity analysis. The study contributes methodologically rigorous evidence with important implications for digital development policy.