FACTORS INFLUENCE ON EXPORT: EVIDENCE FROM MALAYSIA

Abstract

In economics, the study of information, communication, and technology (ICT) and trade has been a fascinating topic. ICT is stated to effectively encourage trade by reducing time and transaction costs, which result in increased productivity, and thus the economy of a country. Moreover, during the COVID-19 crisis, the boom in digital economy showed that ICT indicators could create a new norm of economic activities for a country to survive. This study examined the influence of ICT indicator and macroeconomic variables included exchange rate, net foreign direct investment, import, inflation on international trade (export) in Malaysia. Sample years were from 1998 to 2020 and the ordinary least square (OLS) method was applied in the study. The result of this study showed that net foreign direct investment (NFDI) and import (I) had a significant influence on export, while inflation (INF), Internet user (IU) and exchange rate (ER) were not significant towards export.