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on Information and Communication Technologies |
| By: | Miguel Mello Costa (Banco Central del Uruguay) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this article is to determine if the development of information and communication technologies (ICT) had any impact on the productivity of Uruguayan firms. For that, the work exploits the advantages of the data panels to make a dynamic estimation of the total factors productivity (TFP). I used micro-data unbalanced panel for the period 2007-2014 in which 6,492 companies were surveyed. Short-term production functions were estimated for all firms y sectors, distinguishing fixed capital from technological capital and controlling for labour qualification. Results suggest that there are decreasing returns to scale. Technological capital is a factor that contributes to the gross product of Uruguayan firms. Although the period analyzed is characterized by a continuous GDP growth, Total Factor Productivity (TFP) was negative for all sectors. This TFP estimated is not constant for firms but is persistence, consistent with an AR(1) process. There is a positive correlation between ICT utilization and TFP and the performance is heterogeneous between sectors, according to the share of productive factors. |
| Abstract: | El objetivo de este artículo es determinar si el desarrollo de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC) tuvo algún impacto en la productividad de las empresas uruguayas. Para ello, el trabajo explota las ventajas de los paneles de datos realizando una estimación dinámica de la productividad total de los factores (TFP). Utilicé el panel desequilibrado de microdatos para el período 2007-2014 en el que se encuestaron 6.492 empresas. Las funciones de producción a corto plazo se estimaron para todas las empresas y sectores, distinguiendo el capital fijo del capital tecnológico y controlando la calificación laboral. Los resultados sugieren que hay rendimientos decrecientes a escala. El capital tecnológico es un factor que contribuye al producto bruto de las empresas uruguayas. Aunque el período analizado se caracteriza por un crecimiento continuo del PIB, la productividad total del factor (PTF) fue negativa para todos los sectores. Este valor estimado de la PTF no es constante para las empresas, pero es persistente, consistente con un proceso AR (1). Existe una correlación positiva entre la utilización de las TIC y la PTF y el rendimiento es heterogéneo entre los sectores, según la proporción de factores productivos. |
| Keywords: | TFP, ICT, Productivity, Dynamic Panel Data; Productividad, datos de panel, modelos dinámicos |
| JEL: | L10 L11 L22 L23 C23 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bku:doctra:2018004&r=all |
| By: | Henri Vuong; Vitaliy Tonenchuk; Edgar Orlovskis; Ivaylo Stoyanov; Rui Mendes; Jose Ramon; Monsalve Linares |
| Abstract: | Ten years on from the global financial crisis and the non-listed real estate industry continues to evolve. Both players and products have continued to adapt to keep pace with the needs of the increasingly sophisticated approach to real estate investment decision making. Aided, especially of late, by the growing availability of information and data being aptly hailed as the hot commodity.In the past, the real estate industry has primarily worked with data within proprietary software such as Excel, Argus, etc and with minimal transparency. However, with the increasing demand for more transparency, accessibility, and the will to extract more insights out of the data, the approach to data and technology in the Real Estate industry has been changing.This has led to greater standardisation in the data and methodologies used to extract information out of it. Organisations are going through rapid changes in the way data is collected, processed, and shared. Collaborative tools are on the rise, such as INREV’s online analysis tools.At the same time, security and privacy concerns have also increased and have also come under increased regulatory scrutiny. Regulations such as the EU GDPR has brought important measures to protect the collection, handling, and processing of sensitive data.Over the last 15 years, INREV has answered to the needs of the European non-listed real estate industry through global standards, a suite of market data and distribution. The underlying foundation for these activities is a set of software tools to enable data collection, validation and storage in a secure environment. INREV’s rapidly growing suite of data is providing new opportunities for research and analysis in areas previously unexplored, thus enabling the next wave of education in the private real estate industry.This presentation will provide participants with an understanding of the data practices of the European Association for Investors in Non-Listed Real Estate Vehicles as well as provide inspiration for future research opportunities. |
| Keywords: | Data; regulation; Security; Technology; Transparency |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2019–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2019_142&r=all |
| By: | Ibrahim D. Raheem (EXCAS, Liège, Belgium); Aviral K. Tiwari (Kochi, India); Daniel Balsalobre-lorente (Ciudad Real, Spain) |
| Abstract: | This study explores the role of the information and communication Technology (ICT) and financial development (FD) on both carbon emissions and economic growth for the G7 countries for the period 1990-2014. Using PMG, we found that ICT has a long run positive effect on emissions, while FD is a weak determinant. The interactive term between the ICT and FD produces negative coefficients. Also, both variables are found to impact negatively on economic growth. However, their interactions show they have mixed effects on economic growth (i.e., positive in the short-run and negative in the long-run). Policy implications were designed based on these results. |
| Keywords: | ICT; Financial development; Carbon emissions; Economic growth and G7 countries |
| JEL: | E23 F21 F30 O16 |
| Date: | 2019–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:exs:wpaper:19/058&r=all |
| By: | Georgieva, Daniela; Popova, Radostina |
| Abstract: | A main objective of the paper is to present the state, current trends and challenges in front of the enterprises in Bulgarian Forest sector, based on the introduction of digital tools and solutions in business and economy as a whole. A subject of analyses is the degree of digitisation of forest sector enterprises based on the implementation and use of online-based applications and electronic catalogs; specialized information and communication management systems and networks; office and warehouse management software. The indicators under analysis are divided into the following groups - "connectivity and digital skills"; "internal processes" and "relationship with customers, suppliers and third parties". In order to achieve comparability of the results, the selected indicators are the same as those officially used by Eurostat. For the purposes of the analysis, secondary and primary data are used as well as publications in the specialized literature, legislation framework and analyzes of statistical data from national and international databases. The paper presents primary results from in-depth interviews with management representatives from large forest industry enterprises, according to the requirements of the Bulgarian Accountancy Act (AA). Good digital practices in the furniture manufacturers are also presented, and some opportunities for development of the Forest industry entities are suggested. |
| Keywords: | digitisation; Forest sector; Forest industry; in-depth interviews; large enterprises |
| JEL: | M0 Q00 |
| Date: | 2019–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:96021&r=all |
| By: | Nikolai Siniak; Dmytro Zubov |
| Abstract: | Smart sustainable development and inclusive growth policy in Europe have a significant social impact on the cities and regions. The investigation of the regions’ potential is a starting point for the social and economic development that leads to a higher quality of life. Together with developed smart infrastructures such as Industry 4.0, smart transport and cities have to be hospitable for people with disabilities. This concept is based on the combination of digital, economic, social, environmental, and other structures. Nowadays, digital technologies simplify the everyday activities of the blind and visually impaired (B&VI) people, their employment, and make the work conditions more B&VI friendly. The real estate facilities were drastically changed for the B&VI last decade. Internet of Things helps the B&VI to increase control over their lives and live independently. Examples of today available assistive devices are as follows: related to low vision (magnifiers; near/distance vision telescopes), for daily living (thermometers, barometers, and other meteorological sensors; lighting; color sensors; liquid level indicators; money handling devices), for information and communication (mobile communications; screen magnification software; Braille editing and translation software; web-browsers for non-visual output; computer vision), automatic doors and windows (smart locks; smart doorbells; smart curtains and shades), voice assistants (music and audiobooks; heating control; voice-activated phone calls; news and weather updates; calendars and reminders), home help (garden robots; robot hoovers). However, the standard smart assistive infrastructures have not been developed yet. The most prospect approach is the combination of the real estate facilities/services with the B&VI assistive soft-/hardware at the construction and facility management stage including related laws and standards.This paper discusses how the ICT technologies simplify the B&VI everyday activities and employment and make their work and living conditions in buildings more B&VI friendly and how it can influence on a real estate market and regional development. Even a small success rate implies a large socio-economic territorial benefit. |
| Keywords: | Digital Transformation; employment blind and visually impaired; Smart sustainable development; Social Innovation; wearable assistive device |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2019–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2019_83&r=all |
| By: | Kyeremeh, Kwadwo; Prempeh, Kwadwo Boateng; Afful Forson, Matilda |
| Abstract: | The study sought to examine the contribution of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on performance of banks in terms of service delivery in financial institutions in Ghana. The high competition in the Ghanaian banking industry has forced rapid changes as a result of technological innovation, increased awareness and demands from customers. The study adopted both exploratory and descriptive research design. Qualitative research method was used in collecting data and data was analyzed qualitatively. The main instrument for collecting data was the structured questionnaire. A sample size of 50 respondents consisting of 8 staff members and 48 customers of Barclays Bank was used for the study. A structured questionnaire was the main data collection instrument. The purposive and systematic sampling techniques were used to obtain the required sample size. The main tool which was used for the data analysis was Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Frequencies and percentages were used to present the data in a tabular form. The limitation affecting the study was time and financial constraints. The study revealed that ICT has an appreciable positive effect on performance due to improved customer service delivery. This affects the growth of Barclays Bank. ATM service flaws such as withdrawal discrepancies, issuance of faulty cards and long time for applied ATM cards to arrive deter most customers from accessing the service. Following from this study, it is recommended, Barclays Bank enhances the performance of their ATMs and their networks to increase customers satisfaction. |
| Keywords: | Information Communication Technology, service delivery,technological innovation, |
| JEL: | G2 G20 G21 G24 |
| Date: | 2019–09–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:95994&r=all |
| By: | Terans Gunawardhana; Kanchana Perera |
| Abstract: | Enormous literature sources suggest that with the development of digital technologies many industries tend to change their business models, strategies and applications. Accordingly, some scholars argue that the construction industries are facing significant challenges as more processes are digitised and automated. Therefore, this study focused on reviewing how developing technologies affect the sustainability of future construction industry. The research aimed to examine the adaptability of digital technologies in the future of the Sri Lankan construction industry. In this study, the objectives were formulated as, to identify the current level of application of modern technologies towards sustainable practices in Sri Lankan construction industry, to determine the possible developments in advanced technologies towards sustainable practices in Sri Lankan construction industry, and explore the potential issues of modern technologies Sustainable practices in Sri Lankan construction industry and solutions for them. The qualitative approach was adapted to attain the aim and objectives of the research. A content analysis was done to analyse the responses received from semi-structured interviews and validated through the stakeholder analysis. One of significant findings of the research indicate that lack of awareness about the advantages of adopting technologies in construction industry activities has become a severe problem, in this case, actions should be taken to increase the knowledge of the entire industry. There were some identified limitations throughout the whole research process. Mainly, time was recognised as a crucial boundary for the research, especially for data collection process. However, these study results suggest to carry out some research in the future to assess effect through economic, social and environmental aspects of technologies used in the construction industry and to develop a framework to understand the future role of each expert in Sri Lankan construction industry due to due to changes in technologies. |
| Keywords: | Big data; Construction Industry; Digital Technologies; sustainability; Technologies Adaptability |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2019–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2019_85&r=all |
| By: | Sviatlana Engerstam; Jurgita Banyte; Vida Maliene |
| Abstract: | The development of digital technologies that helped to integrate internet into every home has changed the world. This includes the opportunity to work online at home (e-office), to shop online (e-shops), or the possibility of renting your own home (e.g. Airbnb). Thereby, the digitalization factor has brought new challenges to property market, e.g., promoting working from home model decreases demand of office units; increasing online shopping reduces demand of retail units and increases demand for industrial units such like warehouses. According to Gartner, the digitalization is the use of digital technologies to change a business model and provide new revenue and value-producing opportunities; and it is the process of moving into a digital business (Gartner, 2019). The digitalization factor represents an impact of internet technologies on property market. The aim of this study was to examine the digitalization factor and its impact on residential property market dynamics in Sweden and the UK. The dynamics of residential property market have been analyzed by using both, quantitative and qualitative, data though application of narrative analysis and descriptive statistics. The data have been collected from the property and statistical databases, the academic literature, electronic sources, magazines and professional property market reviews. The research findings demonstrated that there is correlation between the digitalization factor and residential property market dynamics in both case study countries. However, the impact of digitalization factor on the residential property market dynamics variates in each case study country. |
| Keywords: | digitalization factor; residential property market; Sweden; UK |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2019–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2019_364&r=all |
| By: | Nadine Wills; Daniel Piazolo |
| Abstract: | A wide range of partition forms the real estate sector, such as asset management, investment management, property management, or facility management. A main objective in real estate sector is the allocation of housing and gaining benefits in dealing with properties. The real estate industry is comparable to automotive industry, architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, or logistic industry. In all of these types of industries, digitalization gains high importance. Comparing digitalization technologies from various industries it can be shown that these technologies are used heterogeneously. A widely used digital technology in AEC industry is the method of building information modeling (BIM). A building information model is a digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a facility, serving as a shared knowledge resource for decision making during the life cycle of a building. A reason for using BIM is a saving of time resources, of human capacities, and of money. The financial benefits for the real estate industry by using BIM are especially considerable in facility management. By an early integration of a real estate maintenance phase into planning phase and construction phase, reinvestments necessary caused by suboptimal planning are avoidable. BIM integrates real estate-relevant data for all kind of the sector participants. Digital tools of the AEC industry can be used for marketing and distribution (e.g. analysis of building proposals, performing simulations, or benchmarking performances) and for decreasing maintenance costs (e.g. by controlling whole life costs and environmental data). Several case studies have shown that by using BM for the real estate sector, up to 40% of costs can be eliminated. Furthermore, time taken to generate cost estimations can be reduced by up to 80%. Moreover, savings of up to 10% of the contract values through clash detections and a reduction in project time up to 7% are the benefits of using BIM for the real estate sector. The case studies focused on savings of the facility management industry. A cost elimination and a rise in benefits will occur while implementing AEC digitalization tools to asset management, investment management, and property management as well. The objective of this paper is an investigation of already existing digitalization tools in the real estate sector, comparing and evaluating these tools with the digital method of BIM. This paper assesses the portability of the outcome of these studies for the European real estate industry of today. |
| Keywords: | Building Information Modeling; Digitalization; Facility Management; Real estate sector |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2019–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2019_266&r=all |
| By: | de Vos, Duco (Delft University of Technology); van Ham, Maarten (Delft University of Technology); Meijers, Evert J. (Delft University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | Teleworking may increase the willingness to accept a longer commute. This paper presents new evidence of the effect of teleworking on the length of commutes. We use novel panel data from the Netherlands, for the years 2008-2018, and find stronger effects compared to studies that use older data. Between 2008 and 2018 however, the effect was remarkably stable: workers that started teleworking increased their commutes by 12 percent on average. We analyse heterogeneity in the effect of teleworking on commuting across different levels of urbanization and across occupations. This study stresses the effects of teleworking on the geographical scale of labour markets, and provides important inputs for policymakers that aim to promote teleworking. |
| Keywords: | telecommuting, commuting time, information technology, fixed effects |
| JEL: | R11 R41 O18 |
| Date: | 2019–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12578&r=all |
| By: | Estolatan, Eric; Geuna, Aldo (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | The case studies described in this paper investigate the evolution of the knowledge bases of the two leading EU robotics firms - KUKA and COMAU. The analysis adopts an evolutionary perspective and a systems approach to examine a set of derived patent-based measures to explore firm behavior in technological knowledge search and accumulation. The investigation is supplemented by analyses of the firms' historical archives, firm strategies and prevailing economic context at selected periods. Our findings suggest that while these enterprises maintain an outwardlooking innovation propensity and a diversified knowledge base they tend to have a higher preference for continuity and stability of their existing technical knowledge sets. The two companies studied exhibit partially different responses to the common and on-going broader change in the robotics industry (i.e. the emergence of artificial intelligence and ICT for application to robotics); KUKA is shown to be more outward-looking than COMAU. Internal restructuring, economic shocks and firm specificities are found to be stronger catalysts of change than external technology-based stimuli. |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:labeco:201904&r=all |
| By: | Hieke Van der Kloet |
| Abstract: | According to the Dutch housing policy for the elderly independent living is the future way of life: stay at home longer when you get older. As a consequence the aging population in the Netherlands indeed lives less in institutions the last years. The general insight is that aging residents prefer to stay independent at their own home. However it is known the aging population process is the largest in the periphery of the Netherlands. This might be no problem as in general the dwellings in rural areas seems suitable, in the sense that a residence is accessible and through accessible without climbing stairs to the main dwelling rooms. The main challenge for the elderly in these areas is –if this is needed- the care and support at home. In general the moving mobility in the Netherlands is rather low, especially among the elderly and in particular among older owner-occupiers. As a consequence older owner-occupiers live independently for longer than tenants. Older owner-occupiers and tenants live on average more than twenty years in the same neighbourhood whereas owner-occupiers of 65 years and older even live five years longer in the same area. Precisely this last group -mostly living in a land-bound property- strongly increases in the Netherlands the last years. Therefore our first research question is: Why stay in your own dwelling in a peripheral area if you ‘re getting older and might be in need of care or have to deal with a diminishing health? Are older homeowners more attached to their home in the course of time or are they forced to stay because of the declining housing prices in these regions?The second question concerns the homeowner who decides to stay in the region independently as long as possible. How can you manage to stay at your own home if you live at the countryside and need care? Which needs do aging people have to live longer independently in their own home? Which ICT and smart home technology do they –according to themselves- need now and in future?Our study aims to contribute to the research on the motivations of older owner-occupiers in peripheral regions of the Netherlands for staying independent at their own home as long as possible. Another goal is to improve the living conditions of aging people maybe with help of smart home technology and house adjustments so they live independently as long as possible in their own home.First of all we want to declare why older owner-occupiers stay in a peripheral or depopulating region. Why would they stay in a region with less facilities? We use a mixed-methods approach for data collection starting with desk research, data-analysis of e.g. the European Quality of Life Survey, focus group discussion and semi-structured interviews with aging people living in different regions in the Netherlands. Our results show that the majority of the interviewees mostly has no problems with independent living. According to themselves they have adequate solutions for staying at home as long as possible. Most respondents have a positive attitude towards ICT-adjustments and smart home technology to overcome moving difficulties, feeling comfortable and save at home now and in the future.From the results we conclude that most of the interviewed respondents -according to themselves- are well equipped, prefer to stay independent at their own home and don’t want to move to an institution.Advise to the Dutch government is to support the older residents of the rural regions to stay at their own homes maybe with help of smart home technology. For sustainability of the communities in these peripheral areas (access to) fast Internet is the most important condition. This will help to improve the regional development and attractiveness of areas that are effected by depopulation. |
| Keywords: | Aging; Independent living; Rural areas; Smart home technology; Stayers/Immobility |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2019–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2019_197&r=all |