Impact of information and communication technology on economic growth and population health in Malaysia

Abstract

The paper aims to examine the association between information and communication technology (ICT), economic growth and population health based on health production model in Malaysia. This theoretical health production function is represented as follows: where the output is an individual health outcome, and the inputs are determinants of health, such as income, education, health care costs, medical facilities, the environment, and lifestyle. The development of information and communication technologies are represented as of mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100) and fixed telephone subscriptions (100) using time series data from 1993-2017 from the World Bank database. Using the bound testing technique of cointegration, this study finds that ICT affects population health significantly and positively in the long-and short-run. This is because ICT inclusion improves human health and longevity. Whereas, economic growth has no significant impact on the populations health both in the short-and long-run. The findings indicate that a weak global economy affects Malaysias economic growth and reduces the health expenditure per capita. The results of this study suggest that policymakers must develop policies that improves public health by increasing health literacy, disseminating health information and facilitating medical facilities. This study also suggests that health care systems should to concentrate on digital inclusion.