Digital Infrastructure, Investment, and ICT Services
Export: Evidence from the Organization of Turkic States

Toshmurod Kulmanov^1,*

¹Toshkent State University of Economics, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Abstract

This research explores the factors behind ICT service exports in the Organization of Turkic States, comprising Azerbaijan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Hungary, over the period 2000–2023. Using annual panel data published by the World Bank, we explore the effects of research and development (R&D), mobile cellular subscriptions, foreign direct investment (FDI), education, and individuals using the Internet on ICT service exports (as a percentage of total service exports). The paper employs panel-corrected standard errors (PCSE) estimations to account for heteroskedasticity and contemporaneous correlation across countries. The findings show that R&D spending, FDI, education spending, and Internet usage all have a statistically significant and positive association on ICT service exports while mobile cellular subscriptions had a small negative total effect. Further testing indicated the absence of evidence of omitted variable bias, with the findings considered robust. The contributions of this analysis point to the importance of continuous digital investment, and educational spending, as well as policies to stimulate targeted innovation, with a view to improve the digital trade scorecard of Turkic States. The policy recommendations stress the need for coordinated regional strategies to publicize digital infrastructure investments, elevate the innovation capacity within the region, and attract high-quality foreign direct investment, with a view to enhancing ICT service export growth.

Keywords: ICT services export; Digital infrastructure; R&D expenditure; Foreign direct investment; Turkic States; Panel data