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on Information and Communication Technologies |
| By: | Simplice Asongu (Yaoundé/Cameroun); Nicholas Biekpe (Cape Town, South Africa.) |
| Abstract: | This study assesses how market power in the African banking industry is affected by the complementarity between information sharing offices and information and communication technology (ICT). The empirical evidence is based on a panel of 162 banks consisting of 42 countries for the period 2001-2011. Four estimation techniques are employed, namely: (i) instrumental variable Fixed effects to control for the unobserved heterogeneity; (ii) Tobit regressions to control for the limited range in the dependent variable; and (iii) Instrumental Quantile Regressions (QR) to account for initial levels of market power. Whereas results from Fixed effects and Tobit regressions are not significant, with QR: (i) the interaction between internet penetration and public credit registries reduces market power in the 75th quartile and (ii) the interaction between mobile phone penetration and private credit bureaus increases market power in the top quintiles. Fortunately, the positive net effects are associated with negative marginal effects from the interaction between private credit bureaus and mobile phone penetration. This implies that mobile phones could complement private credit bureaus to decrease market power when certain thresholds of mobile phone penetration are attained. These thresholds are computed and discussed. |
| Keywords: | Financial access; Information asymmetry; ICT |
| JEL: | G20 G29 L96 O40 O55 |
| Date: | 2017–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:agd:wpaper:17/022&r=ict |
| By: | Simplice Asongu (Yaoundé/Cameroun); Nicholas Biekpe (Cape Town, South Africa.) |
| Abstract: | This study assesses how knowledge diffusion modulates the effect of the mobile phone on entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa with data for the period 2000-2012.The empirical evidence is based on interactive Generalised Method of Moments in which mobile phones are interacted with three knowledge diffusion variables, namely: education, internet penetration and scientific output. Ten variables of entrepreneurship are used. The following three main findings are established. First, the net effects from interacting mobile phones with the internet and scientific publications are negative whereas the corresponding net impact from the interaction between mobile phones and education is positive on the cost of doing business. Second, the mobile phone interacts with education (the internet) to have a positive (negative) net effect on the time needed to construct a warehouse whereas, the corresponding interaction with the internet yields a net negative effect on the time to enforce a contract. Third, there is a positive net effect from the interaction of mobile phones with education on the time to start a business. Given the construction of the education variable, the positive net effects from education are consistent with corresponding negative net effects from the other knowledge diffusion variables. The main policy implication is that mobile phone innovation (by means of internet penetration, scientific output and quality education) decreases constraints of entrepreneurship. Suggestions on how to boost these knowledge diffusion channels are discussed. Other practical and theoretical implications are also covered. To the best our knowledge, this is the first inquiry to assess the relevance of mobile phone innovation in entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship; the Mobile Phone; Knowledge Diffusion; Sub-Saharan Africa |
| JEL: | L59 L98 O10 O30 O55 |
| Date: | 2017–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:agd:wpaper:17/023&r=ict |
| By: | Vladimir Udalov (Europäisches Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsbeziehungen (EIIW)); Paul J.J. Welfens (Europäisches Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsbeziehungen (EIIW)) |
| Abstract: | Summary: The environmental concern of people in industrialized and developing countries is analysed. Using the 2010-2014 wave of the World Value Survey (WVS), the main purpose of our analysis is to investigate the effect of different information sources on the affective, conative and behavioural components of the environmental concern of people in the developed and developing countries. As independent variables we use a set of economic data as well as information-related variables, including the internet, mobile phones, TV, radio and newspapers. The digital variables of the internet and mobile phones turn out to have a highly significant impact on environmental concern so that digital modernization of countries should have pro-environmental impacts as a side-effect of internet and mobile phone services expansion. With the developing countries catching-up vis-à-vis the OECD countries in the field of mobile phone density and internet density, respectively, one may expect better prospects for cooperation between developed and developing countries since attitudes/the environmental concern of people in developed and developing countries will become more similar – an effect that is reinforced through the income variable. |
| Keywords: | environmetnal concern, world value survey, mass media, information technologies, international economics |
| JEL: | Q50 D10 C83 D80 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bwu:eiiwdp:disbei233&r=ict |
| By: | Wei Dong; James Fudurich; Lena Suchanek |
| Abstract: | Information technology (IT) is an increasingly integral part of everyday business and personal life reflecting the ongoing and accelerating digital transformation of the economy. In this paper, we present information gathered from a survey with export-oriented firms in the Canadian IT service industry and consultations with industry associations aimed at shedding light on this small but highly dynamic sector. Our main findings from this survey are: (i) IT service firms experience strong sales growth and tend to be very positive about their outlook, driven by the solid exports that comprise the majority of their sales; (ii) in this context, firms overwhelmingly view the weaker Canadian dollar as favourable, boosting their margins on foreign sales; (iii) because of the knowledge-intensive nature of the industry, firms report investing in human capital more than in physical capital. This often comes with strong employment and R&D investment intentions, although firms in some regions face difficulties in recruiting qualified staff. The survey results provide initial insight in the context of our broader agenda to better understand the implications of digitalization for the Canadian economy. |
| Keywords: | Firm dynamics, Service Sector |
| JEL: | D22 L86 O33 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bca:bocadp:16-21&r=ict |
| By: | Carin, Barry |
| Abstract: | The G20 can ensure a secure, resilient, sustainable and responsible digital economy, especially in the financial sector, by removing vulnerabilities in Internet infrastructure, encouraging cross-border cooperation, providing guidance to telecommunications regulators and implementing norms regarding cyber-attacks. |
| Keywords: | digital economy,cyber security,global governance |
| JEL: | L86 L59 L96 O38 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwedp:201727&r=ict |