The Influence of Digital Innovation Capability and Institutional Quality on Aviation Activities
by HAVADER Editör Ekibi
How many passengers and how much cargo a country's airlines carry isn't just about the size of its economy — it's also about how well it's governed and how developed its digital infrastructure is. This study tests that relationship using a large dataset spanning 72 countries.
The goal was to examine how trade openness, institutional quality, digital innovation capability, and economic growth relate to aviation activity from 2005 to 2023, analyzing passenger and freight transport separately to capture possible structural differences. The research also used threshold models to test whether trade openness's effect on aviation varies with the level of digital innovation capability.
The findings show government effectiveness as a stable, positive determinant for both passenger and freight transport — the better a country's institutions function, the stronger its aviation sector. But there's a more interesting distinction too: passenger aviation tracks mobile connectivity quality more closely, while freight aviation is more sensitive to institutional quality and broadband infrastructure.
What this study contributes is turning a vague claim like "digitalization grows aviation" into something concrete, by distinguishing which type of aviation activity benefits from which type of digital investment. An everyday analogy: it's similar to how passenger transport in a city (public transit, ride-hailing apps) depends more on fast mobile internet, while freight transport depends more on reliable road infrastructure and customs processes — both need "infrastructure," but different kinds.
In the end, this research shows policymakers and aviation investors a regime-dependent trade-aviation relationship shaped by digital capacity — suggesting investment decisions should be shaped by the specific type of aviation activity being targeted, rather than "digitalization" as a blanket goal.
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The goal was to examine how trade openness, institutional quality, digital innovation capability, and economic growth relate to aviation activity from 2005 to 2023, analyzing passenger and freight transport separately to capture possible structural differences. The research also used threshold models to test whether trade openness's effect on aviation varies with the level of digital innovation capability.
The findings show government effectiveness as a stable, positive determinant for both passenger and freight transport — the better a country's institutions function, the stronger its aviation sector. But there's a more interesting distinction too: passenger aviation tracks mobile connectivity quality more closely, while freight aviation is more sensitive to institutional quality and broadband infrastructure.
What this study contributes is turning a vague claim like "digitalization grows aviation" into something concrete, by distinguishing which type of aviation activity benefits from which type of digital investment. An everyday analogy: it's similar to how passenger transport in a city (public transit, ride-hailing apps) depends more on fast mobile internet, while freight transport depends more on reliable road infrastructure and customs processes — both need "infrastructure," but different kinds.
In the end, this research shows policymakers and aviation investors a regime-dependent trade-aviation relationship shaped by digital capacity — suggesting investment decisions should be shaped by the specific type of aviation activity being targeted, rather than "digitalization" as a blanket goal.