The Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on Export Diversification: Evidence from the Countries of Central Asia

The article aims to empirically investigate the relationship between export diversification and the individual categories of UNCTAD's Productive Capacities Index (PCI) based on a panel regression analysis of data from five Central Asian countries from 2000–2022. The results indicate that the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) index negatively influences the Export Product Concentration Index (EPCI) in the short run. Transport, institutions, and private sector categories of the PCI contribute to a more concentrated export structure in Central Asian countries in the short term. Other categories of the PCI index do not significantly affect Central Asian countries’ export diversification in the short run. Thus, Central Asian countries should pay more attention to ICT development to accelerate product export diversification.