THE MORE YOU KNOW: HOW THE EXPANSION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY INFLUENCES RISKY HEALTH DECISIONS

Abstract

Although the side effects of risky health behaviors can be hazardous, these practices have become common in many countries around the world. In theory, knowledge makes consumers more efficient producers of health because they better understand the consequences of various health inputs.

Traditionally, however, knowledge in health economic literature has been synonymous with formal years of education. Over the last two decades, an influential component of economic development has been the expansion of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Now, even individuals without formal education have access to a large stock of web-based information.

In my research, I explore the relationship between the expansion of ICT and risky health behaviors, such as smoking, drinking, and drug use. Based on economic theory, I expect ICT development will negatively affect risky health behaviors. In order to establish this correlation, I use a linear two-way fixed effects regression model to obtain Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimates. Additionally, I use a Linear Probability Model and a Probit Model to estimate the marginal effects of ICT development on dichotomous indicators for risky health behaviors.

Ultimately, I find an inconsistent relationship between ICT expansion and risky health behaviors. Importantly, my OLS estimates show that all indicators for ICT development have a strong negative impact on smoking behavior. My probability models confirm this negative relationship between cigarette smoking and composite measures of ICT development, ICT access, and ICT use. However, I find a more ambiguous impact of ICT development on other risky health behaviors. For alcohol consumption, I find that only composite ICT development and ICT Access have a consistent negative effect. This relationship is stronger in countries whose populations excessively consume alcohol at higher rates. For drug use, I find that all indicators of ICT development are positively correlated with drug use, except for ICT skills. In sum, this paper provides a brief insight into the potentially positive health impacts of ICT expansion, but more research is necessary to understand the broader educational effects of ICT on risky health decisions.