Cyberspace as an Extended Policy Domain for Citizen Well-being: ICT Competitiveness,Government Capacity,and Subjective Well-being

Abstract

This study examines how national-level ICT development, cybersecurity governance, and government capacity influence subjective well-being across 169 countries. As digital interactions increasingly influence daily life, cyberspace has emerged as a critical policy domain for each country with substantial implications for citizen welfare. Using cross-national indices and multivariate analyses, we find that cybersecurity governance has a significant and positive association with subjective well-being, with the association being notably stronger in high income countries than middle income countries. In contrast, broader ICT infrastructure quality and access do not consistently predict well-being outcomes. The findings call into question infrastructure-led models of digital development, pointing instead to the importance of institutional capacity. By reframing cyberspace as a core extension of state responsibility in the digital age, this study contributes to the broader discourse on digital-era public governance and calls for a shift toward citizen-centred, context-sensitive approaches to cyberspace governance.