Public sector expenditure, good governance, and digital innovation for fostering economic growth on ASEAN-5: an Arellano–Bond GMM dynamic panel data estimation

This study examines the integrated roles of public sector expenditure, good governance, and digital innovation in driving economic growth in ASEAN-5 countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore) from 2001 to 2022. While existing studies often analyze these factors separately, limited research incorporates them within a unified empirical framework. Using a balanced panel dataset and employing the Arellano–Bond dynamic GMM estimator to address potential endogeneity, this study assesses the joint effects of education and health expenditure, governance, and digital innovation, proxied by R&D expenditure, mobile phone subscriptions, and internet users, on economic growth. A series of diagnostic and robustness tests support the reliability of the estimates. The findings indicate that public expenditure on education and health, together with good governance, significantly promotes economic growth. Furthermore, digital innovation produces mixed effects, R&D expenditure and mobile subscriptions contribute positively, whereas internet usage is negatively associated with economic growth, reflecting uneven infrastructure, limited digital literacy, and cybercrime risks. Overall, the results highlight that economic growth in ASEAN-5 is shaped by the reinforcing interaction between fiscal policy, institutional quality, and digital innovation rather than by these factors in isolation.