Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on ICT growth in South Korea

Abstract

We estimate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic using indices derived from in-text measurement on the growth of ICT in South Korea spanning the period between January 2020 and October, 2021. With our OLS and GMM methodologies, we are able to come to term with the following findings. (1) COVID-19 pandemic generally poses negative impact on the growth of ICT in South Korea during the period, (2) the impact is found to be serious with rising reported cases index than with rising death cases index; and lastly (3) the panic generated by the pandemic is limiting the growth of ICT in the region. With our alternative choice of methodology, it could be inferred that the variables under consideration performed better, suggesting the possibility of endogenous problems among the variables and the error terms. We therefore suggest creating an avenue for using ICT in any time like this to serve as a mechanism to combat the diseases rather allowing it to take control in affecting the economy.