Economic Freedom and Internet Use: A Cross-Country Comparison

The present study examined the role that economic freedom plays in the availability and usage of the Internet. Using data from the World Bank and the Heritage Foundation, the present study estimated a model of Internet usage. In addition to various socioeconomic attributes of nations that may affect Internet usage, measures of economic freedom also were used in order to determine if government policies that impede economic growth and retard entrepreneurial activity also make it more difficult to develop the necessary infrastructure for an Internet system. Results of the present study generally confirmed the following hypothesis: nations that retard economic activity have less Internet usage, holding all other variables constant. In addition, nations with greater human development, as measured by the Human Development Index, have greater Internet usage. Regarding other important determinants of Internet usage, results suggest that those nations with more fixed phone lines per capita and greater per capita gross national income also have higher levels of Internet usage. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]