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on Information and Communication Technologies |
| By: | Andrew Sharpe; Jean-François Arsenault |
| Abstract: | In 2008, Statistics Canada, for the first time, made available estimates of information and communication technology (ICT) investment by province. Given the importance of ICT investment for productivity growth, these data are important for the comparative analysis and understanding of productivity growth by province. The objective of this report is to present the basic data on ICT investment and ICT investment per worker in Canada and the ten provinces over the 1981-2007 period. The first part of the report reviews the literature on why ICT investment is important for productivity. The second part examines ICT investment levels and trends by province. The third part decomposes the gap in ICT investment per worker by province, relative to the national average, into three effects: that related to income levels, to the total investment/GDP share, and to the ICT investment/total investment share. |
| Keywords: | Machinery and equipment investment, information and communications technology, ICT, Investment gap, Business sector, Provincial estimates |
| JEL: | E22 G11 J21 M00 O47 Z10 |
| Date: | 2008–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sls:resrep:0806&r=ict |
| By: | Paul de Bijl; Martin Peitz |
| Abstract: | The introduction of packet-switched telephony in the form of VoIP raises concerns about current regulatory practice. Access regulation has been designed for traditional telephony on PSTN networks. In this paper, we analyze the effect of access regulation and retail price regulation of PSTN networks on the adoption of a new technology in the form of VoIP. In particular, we show that with endogenous consumer choice between PSTN and VoIP telephony, higher prices for terminating access to the PSTN network make VoIP less likely to succeed and lead to lower profits of operators that offer VoIP telephony exclusively |
| Keywords: | telecommunications; voice over broadband (VoB); voice over Internet protocol (VoIP); entry; access; regulation; imperfect competition |
| JEL: | L96 L51 L13 |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpb:discus:109&r=ict |
| By: | Heinz Hollenstein (KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich, Switzerland); Tobias Stucki (KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | Firstly, we investigated the determinants of a) the propensity of Swiss firms to provide apprenticeship training, and b) the intensity of training (measured by the employment share of apprentices). We primarily were interested in the relevance as explanatory factors of the three constituent elements of the “new firm paradigm” that emerged in the course of the last twenty years: intensive usage of ICT; redesign of workplace organisation; shift from lower to higher skills. We found that the skill composition of the workforce (including further training), ICT intensity and, to a lesser extent, workplace organisation are important drivers of apprenticeshipbased skill formation, with stronger effects on training propensity than on training intensity. Secondly, we analysed the relationship between apprenticeship training and firm performance. It turned out that productivity and apprenticeships (training propensity or intensity) are negatively correlated. The study is relevant for training policy in advanced economies where the new firm paradigm plays a large and growing role. |
| Keywords: | Firm-based training, Apprenticeship, Workplace organisation, ICT, Skill formation, Human capital |
| JEL: | J2 L2 O3 M5 |
| Date: | 2008–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kof:wpskof:08-205&r=ict |