nep-ict New Economics Papers
on Information and Communication Technologies
Issue of 2017‒02‒12
five papers chosen by
Walter Frisch
Universität Wien

  1. Los OTT TV como nuevos proveedores de contenidos audiovisuales y su impacto en la TV de Paga By Carlos Ramos; Rosa Castillo; Ana Oliva
  2. The Economics of Zero-Rating and Net Neutrality By SOMOGYI, Robert
  3. Mapping and Analysis of ICT-enabled Social Innovation initiatives promoting social investment across the EU: IESI Knowledge Map 2016 By Gianluca Misuraca; Csaba Kucsera; Giulio Pasi; Dimitri Gagliardi; Fabienne Abadie
  4. Does Online Access Promote Research in Developing Countries? By Mueller-Langer, Frank; Scheufen, Marc; Waelbroeck, Patrick
  5. Blockchain: A Primer By Dwyer, Gerald P

  1. By: Carlos Ramos (OSIPTEL, Gerencia de Politicas Regulatorias y Competencia); Rosa Castillo (OSIPTEL, Gerencia de Politicas Regulatorias y Competencia); Ana Oliva (OSIPTEL, Gerencia de Politicas Regulatorias y Competencia)
    Abstract: El presente documento tiene como objetivo evaluar la evolucion del mercado de contenidos audiovisuales producto del desarrollo tecnologico; y como las nuevas formas de acceder a estos contenidos, a traves de Internet por los denominados Over The Top Television (OTT TV) podrian estar impactando en las formas tradicionales (Television de Paga) de acceder a los contenidos audiovisuales. Los resultados presentan la relacion de sustitucion o complementariedad que existe entre los OTT TV y la TV de Paga dentro del mercado peruano, considerando las caracteristicas de ambos servicios, la capacidad de disciplinar la conducta de los agentes de mercado, asi como la penetracion del servicio de Internet (necesaria para el crecimiento de los OTT TV).
    Keywords: Over The Top, Television de Paga, Internet, Bienes Sustitutos
    JEL: C25 O33 L96
    Date: 2016
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:opt:doctra:27&r=ict
  2. By: SOMOGYI, Robert (Université catholique de Louvain, CORE, Belgium)
    Abstract: This paper studies zero-rating, an emerging business practice consisting in a mobile internet service provider (ISP) excluding the data generated by certain content providers (CPs) from its consumers' monthly data cap. Being at odds with the principle of net neutrality, these arrangements have recently attracted regulatory scrutiny all over the word. I analyze zero-rating incentives of a monopolistic ISP facing a capacity constraint in a two-sided market where consumption provides utility for homogeneous consumers as well as advertising revenue for CPs. Focusing on a market with two CPs competing with each other and all other content which is never zero-rated, I identify parameter regions in which zero, one or two CPs are zero-rated. Surprisingly, the ISP may zero rate content when content is either very unattractive or very attractive for consumers, but not in the intermediary region. I show that zero-rating harms consumers if content is unattractive, whereas it improves social welfare in the case of attractive content.
    Keywords: Zero-rating; Sponsored Data; Net Neutrality; Data Cap; Capacity Constraint
    JEL: D21 L12 L51 L96
    Date: 2016–12–31
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cor:louvco:2016047&r=ict
  3. By: Gianluca Misuraca (European Commission – JRC); Csaba Kucsera (European Commission – JRC); Giulio Pasi (European Commission – JRC); Dimitri Gagliardi (University of Manchester); Fabienne Abadie (European Commission – JRC)
    Abstract: This report presents the results of the analysis of the consolidated mapping of ICT-enabled social innovation initiatives promoting social investment gathered as part of the research project entitled 'ICT-Enabled Social Innovation to support the Implementation of the Social Investment Package' (IESI). The dataset includes 613 initiatives inventoried over the course of the research, out of which 300 have been mapped and are part of the IESI Knowledge Map 2016. The results of the analysis of the IESI mapping is meant to help policymakers and practitioners to use ICT-enabled social innovation to modernise EU welfare states, providing better and more efficient social services and increasing the skills, wellbeing and resilience of EU citizens. In this perspective, the documented research design, its proposed terminology, theoretical framework and findings contribute to the growing scientific interest and debate about ICT-enabled social innovations in the field of social services innovation and social policy redesign within the scope of the emerging discussion on the European Pillar of Social Rights and the future of welfare systems.
    Keywords: Social policy, innovation, ICT, social investment, social policy innovation, SIP, Social Investment Package, social economy, social enterprise, ICT enabled social innovation, ICT, services, social protection, welfare, mapping, welfare reforms, wellbeing, resilience
    JEL: I31 I38 O35 O33
    Date: 2017–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc105556&r=ict
  4. By: Mueller-Langer, Frank; Scheufen, Marc; Waelbroeck, Patrick
    Abstract: Universities in developing countries have rarely been able to subscribe to academic journals in the past. The “Online Access to Research in the Environment” initiative (OARE) provides institutions in developing countries with free online access to more than 5,700 environmental science journals. Here we analyze the effect of OARE on scientific output in five developing countries. We apply difference-in-difference estimation using panel data for 18,955 articles from 798 research institutions. We find that online access via OARE increases publication output by at least 43% while lower-ranked institutions located in remote areas benefit less. Results are robust when we apply instrumental variables to account for information diffusion and Bayesian estimation to control for self-selection
    Keywords: Online Access; Academic Publishing; Information Diffusion Processes; Instrumental Variables; Bayesian Estimation
    JEL: O33 L17
    Date: 2017
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lmu:muenec:31973&r=ict
  5. By: Dwyer, Gerald P
    Abstract: The Bitcoin blockchain is the primary innovation in Bitcoin that makes it practical. Blockchains have applications in many contexts other than cryptocurrencies. This note is an introduction to blockchains that requires no prior knowledge, including of Bitcoin. Blockchains are ledgers of transactions kept by a set of participants, none of which is accorded special status as the “correct one.” Instead, agreement is reached by a process of consensus. I show how this works for Bitcoin, discuss applications in many alternative settings and provide some detail about a very different proof-of-concept application of blockchains by the Japan Exchange Group.
    Keywords: Blockchain, public distributed ledger, Bitcoin
    JEL: G10 G18 G21 G23 G28
    Date: 2016–12
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:76562&r=ict

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