|
on Information and Communication Technologies |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | This report focuses on the development of backhaul and cross-border networks, which enable local networks to connect to the wider Internet. These local networks may cover a city, a region or even a country. To connect their networks to other networks around the world, operators need access to regional and international high-speed networks. The level of investment required in these networks varies and can be very different from region to region. In some parts of the world, the investment made around the turn of the century was characterised by a “boom and bust”, which fuelled an expansion in backhaul links and data centres. Since that time, investment has taken place at a more measured pace, reflecting growing demand from liberalised markets and leading to further expansion in areas such as mobile and broadband Internet access. |
| Date: | 2014–02–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:stiaab:232-en&r=ict |
| By: | Bert Sadowski |
| Abstract: | Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) provide small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with an option to create and exploit strategic opportunities. Prior investment in ICT infrastructure can lead to follow-up decisions to adopt new ICT services, but there is no guarantee that SMEs will also use emerging strategic opportunities in adopting these services. In this context, the paper examines whether or not the adoption of advanced ICT infrastructure and advanced ICT services by SMEs has been inter-related and was depending on number of firm-specific, market-specific and location-specific factors. In contrast to previous studies, the focus is on the extent to which the adoption of ICT infrastructure and ICT services has been driven by expectations about open access by SMEs. Open access was conceptualized as expectations by these companies about cheaper prices in the future, better quality of service and more competition on the infrastructure. The research uses data from a survey undertaken among 247 SMEs on different industrial parks in the Netherlands in February 2011. The results of the analysis show that SMEs value open access factors very high with respect to their choice to opt for new ICT infrastructure and new ICT services. |
| Keywords: | business ICT, SME, Open Access |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ein:tuecis:1404&r=ict |
| By: | Renault, Régis |
| Abstract: | A monopoly platform hosts advertisers who compete on a market for horizontally differentiated products. These products may be either mass market products that appeal broadly to the entire consumer population or niche products that are tailored to the tastes of some particular group. Consumers search sequentially through ads incurring a surfing cost of moving to the next ad. They may click on an ad at some cost, which provides all relevant information and the opportunity to buy. The platform chooses which information is in an ad and may be observed by consumers before they click. It also selects the level of sur ng costs and click costs and charges a per click ad price. Higher surfing and click costs and more mass market advertising reduces the platform's attractiveness but enhances advertisers' market power. If ads are uninformative, the platform optimally attracts only niche advertising. This is however not feasible if search costs cannot be made su ciently low, in which case both types of products are advertised. The platform benefits from requiring firms to advertise prices, only if it is unable to attract consumers with uninformative ads. The analysis is extended to allow advertising to include product information and allow the platform to provide non advertising content (e.g. entertainment or news). |
| Keywords: | Internet platforms; Internet; Consumers; Mass markets products; Advertising; |
| JEL: | L86 L81 M37 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dau:papers:123456789/12808&r=ict |
| By: | MARCELO DE CARVALHO PEREIRA |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anp:en2012:152&r=ict |
| By: | Daron Acemoglu; David Laibson; John A. List |
| Abstract: | Internet-based educational resources are proliferating rapidly. One concern associated with these (potentially transformative) technological changes is that they will be disequalizing – as many technologies of the last several decades have been – creating superstar teachers and a winner-take-all education system. These important concerns notwithstanding, we contend that a major impact of web-based educational technologies will be the democratization of education: educational resources will be more equally distributed, and lower-skilled teachers will benefit. At the root of our results is the observation that skilled lecturers can only exploit their comparative advantage if other teachers complement those lectures with face-to-face instruction. This complementarity will increase the quantity and quality of face-to-face teaching services, potentially increasing the marginal product and wages of lower-skill teachers. |
| JEL: | A20 I20 I24 O33 |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19851&r=ict |
| By: | Cakir, Murat |
| Abstract: | Data processes run by states, governments and the like have been a great deal and as old as the modern human history. Data had always been important. Tons were collected and siloed, but never in the past had its importance been felt as much as it had been when the last crisis broke out in 2008. Because these tons of data either, as some were redundant and occupying large spaces with huge storage costs, were not useful given the processing power and due to outdated mind-sets, or were not even the tiniest portion of the data necessary to do analysis , the experts realised. With the advances in the digital world dealing with data has become easier. Combined with the urgent needs and demands from the bottom up and top down there now is more enlightened and educated perception of data and whatever its extensions are, and its / their potential use, though a little bit late. In the late 90s, however, things were not as computerised and DataeXve was not as Big as it is today, and manual operations dominated the automated ones. There were definitely inefficiencies in DataeXve. Still, even then, there were efforts to improve these processes. This work focuses on one of those early efforts. |
| Keywords: | Data management, Data Centralisation, Big Data and Systemic Risk Diagnosis |
| JEL: | C80 C81 C82 C89 D8 D85 E01 G32 G33 Y1 |
| Date: | 2014–01–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:53869&r=ict |