The Moderating Role of Information and Communication Technology in the Nexus between Financial Development and Financial Inclusion on Economic Growth

This study explores the impact of financial development, financial inclusion, and renewable energy consumption in determining economic growth. In addition, emphasizing the moderating role of information and communication technology on financial development and financial inclusion. Using a dataset covering 57 countries over the period 1990–2023.The study employs the system generalized method of moments (S-GMM) to avoid the issue of endogeneity. This study examines the effects of financial development and financial inclusion on economic growth and explores how information and communication technology (ICT) moderates these relationships. The results indicate that financial development and financial inclusion have a significant effect on economic growth. Renewable energy consumption has a direct and significant effect on economic growth. Moreover, the moderating role of ICT was also observed in the current analysis. This study also helps to gain a great understanding of the topic, which may help in the macro-economic policies and their main objective is to achieve economic growth, which ultimately contributes to the well-being of society. The findings emphasize the importance for policymakers to recognize the critical role of financial development and financial inclusion in fostering sustainable economic growth. Policymakers in these countries need to balance financial deepening with strong prudential regulation to ensure maximum benefits. Furthermore, the analysis of this study talks about the importance of ICT in boosting economic growth and gives an important policy recommendation regarding the role of ICT in both financial development and economic growth.