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on Information and Communication Technologies |
| By: | Maude Hasbi (I3, une unité mixte de recherche CNRS (UMR 9217) - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation - X - École polytechnique - Télécom ParisTech - MINES ParisTech - École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Antoine Dubus (Télécom ParisTech) |
| Abstract: | Broadband is seen as a vector of economic growth and social development. In the developing world, mobile technologies are widely adopted and mobile broadband is progressively rolled-out with high expectations on its impact on the countries' development. We highlight what the determinants of mobile broadband use are in four Sub-Saharan countries. Using micro-level data coming from household surveys over 5 years, from 2013 to 2017, we show that SIM card ownership and being part of an online social community has a strong positive impact on mobile broadband use. We also highlight a positive correlation between digital inclusion and financial inclusion as mobile money users and bank account users are found to be more inclined to use mobile broadband. However, beyond apparent similarities, mobile broadband is used in different ways according to countries specificities. For instance, among the non-mobile owners in Nigeria, the unemployed are the most likely to use mobile broadband, most probably for job search practices, while it is rather used by students for information gathering in other countries. Finally we show that those excluded from mobile broadband use are the eldest, those with the lowest level of education, and women. |
| Keywords: | O12,L50,L96,O55,Financial Inclusion,Digital Gap JEL Classification: I30,Mobile Broadband Use,Developing Economy |
| Date: | 2019–08–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-02264651&r=all |
| By: | Gian-Luca GASPARINI (SEFEA Consulting, Padua, Italy); Aurora PROSPERO (SEFEA Consulting, Padua, Italy) |
| Abstract: | This paper describes the links between ethical and responsible finance and social innovation. The two have long been in a close relationship. Ethical and responsible finance has traditionally supported projects that face difficulties in the mainstream banking sector, fostering experimental approaches (to give but an example) to market failures of traditional welfare. Moreover, ethical and responsible finance is interested not only on the economic viability of a project to fund, but also its social and/or environmental impact.The additional dimension brought about by the impact of the activities of ethical and responsible finance is social innovation. This potentially encompass several disciplines, phenomena and social constructs, which makes it difficult to analyse. However, interest in social innovation is increasing, especially concerning digital social innovation. After the theoretical analysis, the focus shifts to the PROFIT platform, presented as a practical example of ICT response to the need for improving the financial knowledge and literacy of the citizens for better decision-making and social resilience. During the creation of the platform, its creators have taken the diversity of the potential beneficiaries into account, in order to be useful for as many social groups as possible. The paper concludes with an analysis of the digital social innovation potential of the PROFIT platform. |
| Keywords: | ethical finance; responsible finance; social innovation; social impact; PROFIT, online platform; financial literacy |
| JEL: | A13 A20 I22 O32 |
| Date: | 2019–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crc:wpaper:1911&r=all |
| By: | Yenny Gómez (UDI - Universidad de Investigación y Desarrollo); Karol Ariza (UDI - Universidad de Investigación y Desarrollo); Cindy Tatiana Daza Rios (UDI - Universidad de Investigación y Desarrollo) |
| Abstract: | In today's world, Information technologies and ICT communication has had quite a boom. Digital platforms are constantly used by people. Although, we can realize that by using the internet we can see products in an easier and faster way without having to move to a store, saving time and money; This is why companies should look for a way to boost sales through internet business models that allow them to increase their customers and have greater profitability in companies. The purpose of this degree project is to diagnose the internet business model proposed by Hoque 2000, applied in the furniture mattress manufacturing subsector in the Bucaramanga metropolitan area. The foregoing will be carried out through the identification and characterization of the current state of the companies of interest, and the contextualization of the benefits obtained by companies that make use of the internet as a tool for buying, selling and marketing their products. Initially, a review of the Compite 360 platform database of the Bucaramanga Chamber of Commerce is carried out. Subsequently, the classification criteria proposed by Hoque are used, which determined that the companies of interest to carry out the analysis was 10. Based on the analysis carried out, strategies that contribute to the furniture, mattress, and furniture subsector companies are issued. bed bases, to increase sales and improve your profitability in terms of the use of business models online. |
| Abstract: | En el mundo actual, las tecnologías de Información y Comunicación TIC, han tenido bastante auge. Las plataformas digitales son de uso constante de las personas. Si bien, podemos darnos cuenta, que al usar el internet podemos ver productos de una manera más fácil y rápida sin necesidad de trasladarse a una tienda, ahorrando tiempo y dinero; es por esto que las empresas deben buscar una manera de impulsar las ventas por medio de modelos de negocios en internet que les permita aumentar sus clientes y tener una mayor rentabilidad en las compañías. Este proyecto de grado tiene como propósito diagnosticar el modelo de negocio en internet propuesto por Hoque 2000, aplicado en el subsector de fabricación de muebles colchones somieres en el área metropolitana de Bucaramanga. Lo anterior se va a llevar a cabo a través de la identificación y caracterización del estado actual de las empresas de interés, y de la contextualización de los beneficios que han obtenido las empresas que hacen uso del internet como herramienta de compra, venta y comercialización de sus productos. Inicialmente se realiza una revisión de la base de datos de la plataforma Compite 360, de la Cámara de Comercio de Bucaramanga. Posteriormente, se utilizan los criterios de clasificación propuestos por Hoque, los cuales determinaron que las empresas de interés para llevar a cabo el análisis, eran 10. Partiendo del análisis realizado, se emiten estrategias que aporten a las empresas del subsector de muebles, colchones y somieres, para incrementar las ventas y mejorar su rentabilidad en cuanto al uso de los modelos de negocios por internet. |
| Keywords: | Business Model,Internet,TIC,Characterize,Electronic Commerce,Modelo de negocio,caracterizar,comercio electrónico. |
| Date: | 2019–07–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-02192565&r=all |
| By: | Batabyal, Amitrajeet; Beladi, Hamid |
| Abstract: | We exploit the public good attributes of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and theoretically analyze an aggregate economy of two smart cities in which ICTs are provided in either a decentralized or a centralized manner. We first determine the efficient ICT levels that maximize the aggregate surplus from the provision of ICTs in the two cities. Second, we compute the optimal level of ICT provision in the two cities in a decentralized regime in which spending on the ICTs is financed by a uniform tax on the city residents. Third, we ascertain the optimal level of ICT provision in the two cities in a centralized regime subject to equal provision of ICTs and cost sharing. Fourth, we show that if the two cities have the same preference for ICTs then centralization is preferable to decentralization as long as there is a spillover from the provision of ICTs. Finally, we show that if the two cities have dissimilar preferences for ICTs then centralization is preferable to decentralization as long as the spillover exceeds a certain threshold. |
| Keywords: | Information and Communication Technologies, Smart City, Spillover, Uncertainty |
| JEL: | H76 R50 R53 |
| Date: | 2019–05–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:95451&r=all |
| By: | Yingying Lu; Yixiao Zhou |
| Abstract: | The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) is not only a scientific breakthrough but also impacts on human society and economy as well as the development of economics. Research on AI economics is new and growing fast, with a current focus on the productivity and employment effects of AI. This paper reviews recent literature in order to answer three key questions. First, what approaches are being used to represent AI in economic models? Second, will AI technology have a different impact on the economy than previous new technologies? Third, in which aspects will AI have an impact and what is the empirical evidence of these effects of AI? Our review reveals that most empirical studies cannot deny the existence of the Solow Paradox for AI technology, but some studies find that AI would have a different and broader impact than previous technologies such as information technology, although it would follow a similar adoption path. Secondly, the key to incorporating AI into economic models raises fundamental questions including what the human being is and what the role of the human being in economic models is. This also poses the question of whether AI can be an economic agent in such models. Thirdly, studies on the labor market seem to have reached consensus on the stylized fact that AI would increase unemployment within sectors but may create employment gains at the aggregate level. AI also increases the income gap between low- and medium-skilled workers and high-skilled workers. AI’s impacts on international trade and education have been largely neglected in the current literature and are worth further research in the future. |
| Keywords: | Artificial Intelligence, Development of Economics, Literature Review |
| JEL: | A12 E1 E24 E65 F41 J21 |
| Date: | 2019–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:camaaa:2019-54&r=all |
| By: | Inna S. Lola (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Murat Bakeev (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The spread of digital technologies changes production processes and business models, which has important effects for diversification of the economy. The fourth industrial revolution and the Industrial Internet of Things open up new opportunities for the introduction of technologies, having a significant impact on the production cycle, starting with highly automated production lines and ending with the large-scale implementation of technological solutions designed to improve productivity, optimize costs, quality and reliability. Defining digital transformations, primarily in the manufacturing industry as a strategic imperative for the entire economy, for the first time, based on opinions and intentions of entrepreneurs (short and medium-term), key aspects of the digitalization process in Russian medium, high-tech and low-tech manufacturing industries are revealed. A set of tendencies in the development of digital technologies by their main types is presented, the level of industry participation in digital transformation is shown, as well as many other important digital transformation processes in enterprises that are not measured by quantitative statistics. For all the studied industries, factors hindering digital transformation are identified and ranked. |
| Keywords: | digitalization, digital activity, digital technologies, manufacturing industry, conjuncture observations, digital investment, digital strategy |
| JEL: | O14 O33 L60 O52 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:95sti2019&r=all |
| By: | Pepijn van de Ven; Paula Pereda |
| Abstract: | Background: There is a considerable shortfall in specialized health professionals worldwide to deliver health services and this shortfall is especially pronounced in low-middle income countries. This has led to the implementation of task-shifted interventions, in which specific tasks are moved away from highly qualified health workers to health workers with less training. The World Health Organisation has published recommendations for such interventions, but guidelines for software and systems supporting such interventions are not included. Objective: The objective of this paper is to formulate a number of software requirements for computer systems supporting task-shifted interventions. As the treatment of mental health problems is generally considered to be a task for highly trained health professionls, it poses interesting case studies for task-shifted interventions. Therefore, we will illustrate the use of the identified software requirements in a mobile system created for a task-shifted depression intervention to be provided to older adults in deprived areas of São Paulo, Brazil. Methods: Using a set of recommendations based on the World Health Organisation’s guidance documentation for task-shifted interventions, we identified nine software requirements that aim to support health workers in management and supervision, training, good relationship with other health workers, and community embeddedness of the intervention. These nine software requirements were used to implement a system for the provision of a psychosocial depression intervention with mobile Android interfaces to structure interventions and collect data, and web interfaces for supervision and support of the healthcare workers delivering the intervention. The system was tested in a two-arm pilot study with 33 patients and 11 health workers. Eight of these 11 health workers participated in a ‘usability’ study subsequent to the pilot. Results: Qualitative and quantitative feedback obtained with the System Usability Scale suggest the system was deemed to have a usability of between ‘OK’ and ‘Good’. Nevertheless, some participants’ responses indicate they felt they needed technical assistance to use the system. This was reinforced by answers obtained with ‘Perceived Usefulness’ and ‘Ease of Use’ questionnaires, which indicated some users felt they had issues around correct use of the system and perceived ability to becoming skilful at using the system. Conclusions: Overall, these high-level requirements adequately captured the functionality required to enable the health workers to provide the intervention successfully. Nevertheless, the analysis of results indicated some improvements are required for the system to be useable in a task-shifted intervention. The most important of these are better access to a training environment, access for supervisors to meta-data such as duration of sessions or exercises to identify issues, and a more robust and human-error proof approach to availability of patient data on the mobile devices used during the intervention. |
| Keywords: | task-shifting; community health workers; depression intervention; ICT |
| JEL: | I18 I10 C93 C90 |
| Date: | 2019–07–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spa:wpaper:2019wpecon21&r=all |
| By: | Stenberg, Peter L. |
| Abstract: | Telehealth—i.e., health services or activities conducted via phone, Internet, and other technologies— has emerged as a new way for consumers to meet their health care needs. The benefits of telehealth may be greater in rural areas, where remoteness and provider shortages may make accessing health care more difficult for rural residents. Using detailed 2015 household data, the report analyzes three basic telehealth activities as practiced by consumers age 15 or older: (1) online health research; (2) online health maintenance (communication with health providers, including communicating with medical practitioners, maintaining records, and paying bills); and (3) online health monitoring via devices that exchange data remotely with medical personnel. Rural residents were less likely than urban people to engage in the telehealth activities, with 17 percent of rural people conducting online health research, 7 percent engaging in online health maintenance, and 1.3 percent using online health monitoring (compared with 20 percent, 11 percent, and 2.5 percent of urban residents, respectively). Use of all of these telehealth activities increased among individuals with higher levels of education. Generally, use increased among individuals with higher household income, but income’s effect varied across the telehealth activities. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, Health Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:291929&r=all |