Asymmetric influence of ICT on food security in GCC nations: Discovering corruption control,government effectiveness,and environmental sustainability dynamics

Abstract

Food security (FS) is becoming increasingly problematic for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries because of their high reliance on food imports, paucity of arable land, and water shortage. As regional and worldwide demands increase, “information and communication technology (ICT)” has become a viable instrument to boost food system governance, optimise supply chains, and increase agricultural output. This study investigates the asymmetric influence of ICT on Food Security (FS), monitoring the corruption control (CC), government effectiveness (GE), and CO₂ emissions in GCC nations. It uses data from 2002 to 2021 and employs the “Augmented mean group (AMG)” approach, and the second-generation unit root. We also use the “Dumitrescu-Hurlin (D-H) causality test” to assess the reliability of the AMG results. AMG findings demonstrate an unbalanced relationship between ICT and FS; both negative and positive shocks in ICT have a positive impact on FS. The AMG findings indicate a favourable correlation between CO₂ emissions and FS, but the management of corruption and government effectiveness also have a role in FS. The findings imply that improving FS in the GCC region requires advancing ICT. The D-H causality outcomes authenticate the AMG results.