The Economic Importance of ICT in Iran-Input-Output Approach

Contribution of the ICT on to overall production system in the new economy is one of the main issues in the economic literature and it is mainly regarded as one of the factors of productivity growth. Although the impacts of ICT on productivity have been studied in many developed world, little is known in developing world especially in Iran. In this paper, we study the economic importance of ICT at the national level by using hypothetical extraction method in the input-output framework. Based on the aggregated six-sector input-output table in 2001 in which ICT is a main sector. The results show from demand side ICT sector placed in the fourth rank among six sectors with the economic importance of 8.6% total output and from supply side is also placed in the fourth rank with 9.5% of total output.