The Effects of Information and Communication Technologies on Labor Productivity and Employment in Turkiye: The ARDL Bounds Test Approach

Year 2022, Volume: 72 Issue: 2, 725 - 751, 18.01.2023

Fatma Ünlü

https://doi.org/10.26650/ISTJECON2021-1091191

Abstract

Rapid improvements in the field of information and communication technologies have recently played an active role in the transformation of the international economic order and labor markets, with researchers having frequently discussed the effects of these technologies on macroeconomic indicators such as production, productivity, and employment in the literature. In this context, the purpose of this study is to contribute to investigating the effects of information and communication technologies on labor productivity and employment in Turkey. In order to achieve this aim, the econometric procedure of the  autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds test approach was followed using data from Turkey for the period of 2001-2020. According to the empirical findings obtained from the analyses, the long-term effects of ICT use on both labor productivity and employment are statistically significant and negative. In addition, the Toda-Yamamoto causality test was employed to identify the causality relationships between the variables included in the analyses. The results reveal a bidirectional causality relationship to exist between ICT use and labor productivity as well as between employment and labor productivity.

Türkiye’de Bilgi ve İletişim Teknolojilerinin İşgücü Verimliliği ve İstihdam Üzerindeki Etkileri: ARDL Sınır Testi Yaklaşımı

Abstract

Son yıllarda bilgi ve iletişim teknolojileri alanında yaşanan hızlı gelişmeler, uluslararası ekonomik düzenin ve işgücü piyasalarının dönüşüm sürecinde etkin rol üstlenmektedir. Söz konusu teknolojilerin üretim, verimlilik, istihdam gibi makroekonomik göstergeler üzerindeki etkileri araştırmacılar tarafından literatürde sıklıkla tartışılır hale gelmiştir. Bu doğrultuda çalışmanın amacı, Türkiye’de bilgi ve iletişim teknolojilerinin işgücü verimliliği ve istihdam üzerindeki etkilerinin araştırılmasına katkıda bulunmaktır. Bu amacı gerçekleştirmek için, Türkiye’nin 2001-2020 dönemine ait verileri kullanılarak ARDL sınır testi yaklaşımına ait ekonometrik prosedür takip edilmiştir. Analizlerden elde edilen ampirik bulgulara göre, uzun dönemde BİT kullanımının hem işgücü verimliliği hem de istihdam üzerindeki etkileri istatistiki olarak anlamlı ve negatiftir. Diğer taraftan, analize dahil edilen değişkenler arasındaki nedensellik ilişkilerini tespit etmek için Toda-Yamamoto nedensellik testi gerçekleştirilmiştir. Ulaşılan sonuçlar, BİT kullanımı ve işgücü verimliliği arasındaki çift yönlü nedensellik ilişkisine işaret etmektedir. Benzer durum, istihdam ve işgücü verimliliği arasındaki nedensellik ilişkisi için de geçerlidir.

Keywords

Bilgi ve İletişim Teknolojileri, İşgücü Verimliliği, ARDL Sınır Testi.

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