Bridging the digital divide through ICT

2013 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 358-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adboulaye Kaba ◽  
Raed Said
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Information Technology ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Global Information ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
Ict Infrastructure

Bridging the gap of the digital divide can play an important role in education, employment and economic growth of any country. The present study attempts to examine and analyze the digital divide status of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries compared with countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other Arab countries. It uses 19 indicators of four factors adapted from The Global Information Technology Report 2009–2010 to measure the digital divide. Findings of the study indicated that GCC countries have a better ICT infrastructure than the ASEAN and other Arab countries. Similarly, the results of the study revealed that GCC nations have more ICT users than the ASEAN and other Arab countries. However, the study found no significant differences among these groups of countries in regard to government support and usage of ICT. Findings of the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) show that, across the three groups of countries, the influence of ICT infrastructure is consistently significant in narrowing the digital divide. The regression results also prove a significant relationship between government support for ICT and government usage of ICT.

scholarly journals The Future of the Petrochemicals Industry and Sino-Saudi Cooperation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Petrochemical Industry ◽  
Price Volatility ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Trade Barriers ◽  
Health Safety ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
Petrochemicals Industry ◽  
Safety And Environment

The Covid-19 pandemic and the responses to it have had a pronounced impact on the global economy. Major consuming sectors for petrochemicals, including cars and appliances, construction and textiles, have suffered a slump in demand. The production outputs of petrochemicals also vary across regions and countries, with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and China the least affected. Slowed economic growth, increased price volatility of feedstocks, intensified geopolitics and trade barriers, growing concern over health, safety and environment (HSE) standards, among other disrupters, are driving changes in the petrochemical industry.

Analysis of the association between economic growth, environmental quality and health standards in the Gulf Cooperation Council during 1980-2012

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 1050-1071 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasmeen Bader ◽  
Subhadra Ganguli
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Environmental Indicators ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
Lower Productivity ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) between gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and environmental indicators in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Additionally, this paper also explores the relationship between health and income levels in the GCC to identify whether higher incomes necessarily affect overall health metrics. Design/methodology/approach The first part of this paper studies the relationship between GDP per capita and the greenhouse gases (GHGs) – carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) (all per capita data). The second part of this paper explores the relationship between GDP per capita and the following health variables: life expectancy, infant mortality and child mortality – for GCC countries during 1980–2012. Unit root tests were conducted, followed by cointegration analysis, leading to Granger causality test and vector error correction model. Findings GCC states are highly dependent on fossil fuel production and hence depend on hydrocarbons for GDP growth. Most of the GCC states demonstrate lack of the EKC curve. However, there is evidence of U-shaped relationship between environmental pollutants and GDP per capita in kingdoms like Bahrain and Saudi Arabia (KSA). United Arab Emirates (UAE), on the other hand, demonstrates EKC, though not significantly. The study then explores the existence of potential relationship between health and GDP in the GCC, where it has been found that higher incomes have driven a better standard of living resulting in improved health metrics and higher life expectancy rates. Thus, growing incomes have played a positive role by improving health parameters and by offsetting some of the negative impacts from lack of environmental improvement as demonstrated by the absence of EKC in general in GCC. Originality/value GHG emissions data are individually and empirically examined for each country in the GCC. Furthermore, the study delves into the environmental problems that lead to health issues, which were initially caused by pollution. The results of the empirical analysis provide strong evidence that GCC countries need to rely less on fossil fuels, as lower productivity due to higher pollution reduces income and economic growth in most countries.

Uprooting: mega-real estate and the exacerbation of the ‘demographic disorder’ in the GCC

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 519-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Hesham AlShehabi
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Real Estate ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
General Level ◽  
Central Thesis ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
Economic Production ◽  
Real Estate Projects

This study focuses on what has become commonly known as the ‘demographic disorder’ in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). At the general level, the ‘demographic disorder’ refers to the over-reliance on expatriates – in various areas and prominently within labour forces (both highly specialized as well as unskilled) – in GCC societies, where expatriates constitute a majority of the population in four of the GCC countries and a majority of the labour force in all six member states. This study focuses particularly on demographic developments and trends over the first decade of the new millennium, especially the phenomenon of ‘international mega-real estate’ projects aimed at expatriates. This phenomenon has taken central stage in four countries of the GCC (Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and the UAE), where the policies and actions of decision-makers have been squarely directed towards making these projects primary engines of growth in their respective economies. The central thesis of this study holds that these mega-real estate projects signal a qualitative shift in the manner in which decision-makers view the issue of the ‘demographic disorder’. While the overreliance on expatriates was previously seen as a necessary and unavoidable by-product of economic growth that had to be tolerated and regulated in order to meet the dictates of economic production, migrant inflow of a very specific and peculiar kind has now been adopted as a central goal required in order to fill these newly constructed cities and to boost economic demand and consumption in the region.

scholarly journals Determinants of Economic Development: A Case of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Majed Alharthi
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Fixed Effects Model ◽  
Sharp Drop ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
Vision 2030

The main objective of this research is to identify the determinants of economic development in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries over the period of 1996-2016. The economic growth of GCC countries has slowed down due to a sharp drop in oil prices as GCC countries are depending on oil exportation for their economies. The GCC countries preferred to diversify their economies through the strategic plans called Vision 2030. The Vision 2030 for Gulf countries started in Saudi Arabia in 26 April 2016 when the Crown Prince (Mohammad bin Salman Al-Saud) declared that Saudi Arabia has to not depend on oil exportation substantially and that the diversification of oil is a must. The economic growth can be measured through the gross domestic production (GDP). Higher GDP indicates a better economy and higher standards of lives (welfare). Based on this, this research is finding the main indicators of economic development through regressions of fixed-effects model (FEM), random-effects model (REM), generalized methods of moments (GMM) and generalized least squares (GLS) models. The results show that production and rule of law strongly support the economy. In contrast, political instability and a larger population impact economic growth significantly and negatively. In addition, the global financial crisis (GFC) also decreased the economic strength significantly. This study helps the policymakers in economics sector to focus on the positive determinants and to avoid (or reduce) the implementation of the negative factors. In addition, the researcher on economics can be benefited from this study.

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