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on Information and Communication Technologies |
| By: | Joël Cariolle (FERDI - Fondation pour les Etudes et Recherches sur le Développement International, CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne); Yasmine Elkhateeb (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University); Mathilde Maurel (FERDI - Fondation pour les Etudes et Recherches sur le Développement International, CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | The use of the Internet to access news has an impact on African citizens' perceptions of democracy. Using repeated cross-sectional data from the Afrobarometer survey across 35 African countries over the period 2011-2018, along with an instrumental variable approach, allows addressing potential endogeneity bias between Internet use and citizens' perceptions. The results indicate that using the Internet to obtain information has a significant negative effect on both the preference for and the perception of the extent of democracy. This negative effect is due to several factors. First, Internet use erodes trust in government institutions, mainly in the parliament and the ruling party. It increases the perception that parliament members are involved in corruption. In addition, the erosion of trust is correlated with more political mobilization, in the form of greater participation in demonstrations and voting. These results echo the existing literature and, in particular, hint at the risks of reversal of nascent democratization processes. Finally, the Internet seems to act as a misinformation channel. On the one hand, Internet users' perception of the extent of democracy and perception of the corruption of legislators diverge from experts' assessments. On the other hand, Internet use increases the likelihood of inconsistency in respondents' stances on their preference for democracy. The Internet is not a neutral information channel: it tends to undermine citizens' preference for democracy while also altering perceptions about political institutions. |
| Keywords: | Internet, Democracy, Misinformation, Africa, Media & democracy |
| Date: | 2024–01–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04423752&r=ict |
| By: | Ozili, Peterson K |
| Abstract: | Artificial intelligence (AI) is a topic of interest in the finance literature. However, its role and implications for central banks have not received much attention in the literature. Using discourse analysis method, this article identifies the benefits and risks of artificial intelligence in central banking. The benefits of artificial intelligence for central banks are that deploying artificial intelligence systems will encourage central banks to develop information technology (IT) and data science capabilities, it will assist central banks in detecting financial stability risks, it will aid the search for granular micro economic/non-economic data from the internet so that the data can support central banks in making policy decisions, it enables the use of AI-generated synthetic data, and it enables task automation in central banking operations. However, the use of artificial intelligence in central banking poses some risks which include data privacy risk, the risk that using synthetic data could lead to false positives, high risk of embedded bias, difficulty of central banks to explain AI-based policy decisions, and cybersecurity risk. The article also offers some considerations for responsible use of artificial intelligence in central banking. |
| Keywords: | central bank, artificial intelligence, financial stability, responsible AI, artificial intelligence model. |
| JEL: | E51 E52 E58 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:120151&r=ict |
| By: | Doina Muresan (Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University, Bucharest, Romania) |
| Abstract: | The use of technology has steadily increased over the years, however, there is wide variation between people of different ages, with skills higher among younger “digital natives†and lower among older people. The daily use of the Internet among the Romanian population has increased considerably since 2014, proving the increase in the population’s comfort and confidence in using digital technologies and the Internet. Unsurprisingly, the level of digitization among businesses and individuals in Romania differs between regions. The level of digitization is higher in cities than in rural areas and the highest rate is, as expected, in Bucharest, Cluj and the North of the country. Reducing the knowledge and capacity gap between the country's areas can be done through a digitalization plan for the economy, similar to those published by the governments of many other countries, and through the digitalization of the interaction between SMEs and government institutions. The Romanian government is currently going through a significant process of digitizing both its own internal operations and the way it interacts with people and the business environment, for example through electronic signatures and the online takeover of tax-related matters. However, the constraints on government institutions derived from the lack of information determine opportunities for tax avoidance and evasion and inevitably favor compromise. Digitization can help alleviate these constraints in two ways: by implementing more accurate methods to verify the true economic results of taxpayers by connecting information existing in different parts of the tax system or by implementing more sophisticated tax systems. |
| Keywords: | advanced technologies, digitization, data storage, communication networks, taxes |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smo:raiswp:0322&r=ict |
| By: | Antea Barišić; Mahdi Ghodsi (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw); Michael Landesmann (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the complex interplay between technology adoption, specifically robotisation and digitalisation, and international migration within the EU and other advanced economies, including Australia, the UK, Japan, Norway and the US, over the period 2001-2019. Utilising a gravity model approach grounded in neoclassical migration theory, the study analyses how technological advancements influence migration flows. It examines two key technological variables the extent of digitalisation, represented by ICT capital per person employed, and the adoption of industrial robots, measured by the stock of robots per thousand workers. The research uniquely integrates these technological factors into migration analysis, considering both push and pull effects. Additionally, it accounts for various other migration determinants such as macroeconomic conditions, demography and policy factors. The findings reveal insightful dynamics about the relationships between technological progress, labour market conditions and migration patterns, contributing significantly to the current literature and informing future migration policies and the impact of technology adoption. |
| Keywords: | Robot adoption, digitalisation, novel innovation, migrant workers |
| JEL: | O33 F22 D24 |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wii:wpaper:242&r=ict |