nep-ict 2010-08-21 papers

on Information and Communication Technologies

Issue of 2010‒08‒21
two papers chosen by
Walter Frisch
University Vienna

Distance Selling, Internet and Price Dynamics.

By:	Askenazy, P.; Celerier, C.; Irac, D.
Abstract:	The share of retail sales made via distance selling has increased steadily, driven by Internet sales. Meanwhile, a large body of research has been devoted to measuring the impact of online shopping on consumer prices. These studies are based primarily on microeconomic data and they reveal contrasting effects due to diverging microeconomic behaviours. This paper aims to use a macro-sector estimation to show how the price-decreasing effects of Internet shopping outweigh the price-increasing effects. In that purpose, we use French price index series and distance selling sales covering about 30 sectors, from 1990 to 2007. We find that downward effects dominate: the recent development of distance selling, due to the development of online selling, results in lower prices.
Keywords:	E-Commerce, Price, Competition.
JEL:	D12 E31 L8
Date:	2010
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bfr:banfra:288&r=ict

Conceptualising Mobility

By:	Matthias Deschryvere
Abstract:	The information on the impact of mobility on society is plenty but scattered. A good understanding of the impact of mobility requires first an understanding of what mobility actually means. This paper lists aspects of mobility that can contribute to a useful conceptualisation. It is found that in its core mobility is about connectivity of individuals. In addition mobility is more than just geographical mobility of human interactions. Mobility also has important temporal and contextual dimensions. Mobile technology has increased mobility in these dimensions and has been the driver of digitalising society into a mobile network society that connects not only individuals but also remote data and objects. There seems to be a need for an in depth conceptualisation of mobility that has to be updated along the lines of a fast moving mobile technology and mobile society
Keywords:	mobility, mobile communication, network society
JEL:	L96 O30
Date:	2010–08–11
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:dpaper:1218&r=ict

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