Determinants of Worldwide Technology Utilization and Availability a Geospatial and Regression Analysis

Abstract

Social, economic, and political determinants of technology utilization are studied for a worldwide sample of nations through linear regression and spatial autocorrelation. The conceptual theory, based on prior research findings on the global digital divide, posits that higher levels of technological utilization are based on known factors and it further provides screening for geographic clustering of like-valued estimation errors. The spatial autocorrelation of residuals is tested, and is significant for the regressions of each of the dependent variables. Since geographically weighted regression cannot be applied, regression is performed for three world regions, based on UN definitions. Major findings indicate for Europe the importance of judicial independence and innovation, for Asia higher education and foreign direct investment, and for Africa and South America, education and foreign direct investment. The theory and findings add to the digital divide literature the method of validity testing for spatial clustering of errors.