This paper aims at analyzing the effect of Information Technology (IT) on the output growth and Total Factor Productivity (TFP) of Korean banks. Data on 23 and 14 banks, depending on the sub-periods, for the eleven years (1991-2001) are used for the a...
This paper aims at analyzing the effect of Information Technology (IT) on the output growth and Total Factor Productivity (TFP) of Korean banks. Data on 23 and 14 banks, depending on the sub-periods, for the eleven years (1991-2001) are used for the analysis. It is identified that there are both direct and indirect impacts of IT investment of the Korean banking industry on output growth. The total effect on output growth is 2.48 percentage point per year, which divided into a direct effect of investment in IT on the output growth is 0.31 and an indirect effect on the TFP is 2.17 percentage points per year. Results show that IT investment contributes to increased banking industry productivity. Therefore, the commercial banks have benefited from increased expenditures on Automation Teller Machine and other computerized equipments in increasing productivity, implying the so-called productivity paradox did not exist during the period.