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on Information and Communication Technologies |
| By: | Fontanelli, Luca; Calvino, Flavio; Criscuolo, Chiara; Nesta, Lionel; Verdolini, Elena |
| Abstract: | We leverage a uniquely comprehensive combination of data sources to explore the enabling role of human capital in fostering the adoption of predictive AI systems in French firms. Using a causal estimation approach, we show that ICT engineers play a key role for AI adoption by firms. Our estimates indicate that raising the current average share of ICT engineers in firms not using AI (1.66%) to the level of AI users (6.7%) would increase their probability to adopt AI by 0.81 percentage points - equivalent to an 8.43 percent growth. However, this would imply substantial investments to fill the existing gap in ICT human capital, amounting to around 450.000 additional ICT engineers. We also explore potential mechanisms, showing that the relevance of ICT engineers for predictive AI is driven by the innovative nature of its use, make-vs-buy choices, large availability of data, ICT and R&D intensity. |
| Keywords: | artificial intelligence; human capital; technological diffusion |
| JEL: | J24 O33 |
| Date: | 2024–11–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:126787 |
| By: | Draca, Mirko; Nathan, Max; Nguyen-Tien, Viet; Oliveira Cunha, Juliana; Rosso, Anna; Valero, Anna |
| Abstract: | Which types of human capital influence the adoption of advanced technologies? We study the skill biased adoption of information and communication technologies (ICT) across two waves in the UK. Specifically, we compare the ‘new wave’ of cloud and machine learning / AI technologies during the 2010s - pre-LLM - with the previous wave of personal computer adoption in the 1990s and early 2000s. At the area-level we see the emergence of a distinct STEM-biased adoption effect for the second wave of cloud and machine learning / AI technologies (ML/AI), alongside a general skill-biased effect. A one-standard deviation increase in the baseline share of STEM workers in areas is associated with around 0.3 of a standard deviation higher adoption of cloud and ML/AI. We find similar effects at the firm level where we are able to test for the influence of a wide range of skills. In turn, this STEM-biased adoption pattern has encouraged the concentration of these technologies, leading to more acute differences between high-tech and low-tech areas and firms. In contrast with classical technology diffusion, recent cloud and ML/AI adoption in the UK seems more likely to widen inequalities than reduce them. |
| Keywords: | technology diffusion; ICT; human capital; STEM |
| JEL: | J24 O33 |
| Date: | 2024–10–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:127313 |
| By: | Estrin, Saul; Herrmann, Andrea; Levesque, Moren; Mickiewicz, Tomasz; Sanders, Mark |
| Abstract: | We present a Schumpeterian growth model with new venture creation, under uncertainty, which explains the tradeoff between speed-to-breakeven, revenue-at-breakeven and relates this to the level of innovation. We then explore the tradeoffs between these outcomes empirically in a unique sample of 331 information and communication technology (ICT) ventures using a multi-input, multi-output stochastic frontier model. We estimate the contribution of financial capital and labor input to the outcomes and the tradeoffs between them, as well as address heterogeneity across ventures. We find that more innovative (and therefore more uncertain) ventures have lower speed-to-breakeven and/or lower revenue-at-breakeven. Moreover, for all innovativeness levels, new ventures face a tradeoff between speed-to-breakeven and revenue-at-breakeven. Our results suggest that it is the availability of proprietary resources (founder equity and labor) that helps ventures overcome bottlenecks in the innovation process, and we propose a line of research to explain the (large) unexplained variation in venture creation efficiency. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship; innovation; new venture creation; proprietary resources; stochastic frontier analysis; schumpeterian growth model |
| JEL: | O31 L29 |
| Date: | 2024–11–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:126789 |
| By: | Draca, Mirko; Nathan, Max; Nguyen, Viet Nguyen-Tien; Oliveira Cunha, Juliana; Rosso, Anna; Sivropoulos-Valero, Anna Valero |
| Abstract: | Which types of human capital influence the adoption of advanced technologies? We study the skill biased adoption of information and communication technologies (ICT) across two waves in the UK. Specifically, we compare the 'new wave' of cloud and machine learning / AI technologies during the 2010s - pre-LLM - with the previous wave of personal computer adoption in the 1990s and early 2000s. At the area-level we see the emergence of a distinct STEM-biased adoption effect for the second wave of cloud and machine learning / AI technologies (ML/AI), alongside a general skill-biased effect. A one-standard deviation increase in the baseline share of STEM workers in areas is associated with around 0.3 of a standard deviation higher adoption of cloud and ML/AI. We find similar effects at the firm level where we are able to test for the influence of a wide range of skills. In turn, this STEM-biased adoption pattern has encouraged the concentration of these technologies, leading to more acute differences between high-tech and low-tech areas and firms. In contrast with classical technology diffusion, recent cloud and ML/AI adoption in the UK seems more likely to widen inequalities than reduce them. |
| Keywords: | technology diffusion; ICT; human capital; stem; technological change; AI |
| JEL: | J24 O33 R11 |
| Date: | 2024–10–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:126769 |
| By: | Okunogbe, Oyebola Motunrayo; Tourek, Gabriel Zenon |
| Abstract: | This paper examines recent evidence on tax administration interventions aimed at increasing tax revenues in lower-income countries. It focuses on two major themes: the use of new information technology tools—for identifying taxable entities, verifying tax liabilities, and ensuring collection of liabilities—and how the deployment and incentives of tax officials shape their performance. The paper discusses the promise and pitfalls of interventions in these two areas and the strategic interactions between them. Lastly, it emphasizes the importance of political incentives and considers the conditions under which governments choose to invest in tax capacity and expand tax collection. |
| Date: | 2023–12–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10655 |
| By: | Jolevski, Filip; Nayyar, Gaurav; Pleninger, Regina; Shu Yu |
| Abstract: | This paper examines spillovers in the use of digital technologies from formal to informal businesses by exploring differences in geographic proximity. Using a unique set of geocoded data from the 2019 World Bank Enterprise Surveys in Zambia, the findings indicate that closer geographic proximity to formal firms is associated with a significantly higher likelihood of digital adoption by informal businesses. The finding holds for various types of digital technologies, ranging from computers, tablets, and cell phones to mobile money transactions, and is robust to various measures of geographic proximity and model modifications. The results vary by the owner’s level of education and business age. The results also suggest that the spillovers in information and communications technology use can be explained by competition in the local market and learning through enhanced interactions. |
| Date: | 2024–04–23 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10757 |
| By: | Gaurab Aryal; Charles Murry; Pallavi Pal; Arnab Palit |
| Abstract: | We study a new market design for K-12 school broadband procurement that switched from school-specific bidding to a system that bundled schools into groups. Using an event study approach, we estimate the program reduced internet prices by 37% per Mbps per month while increasing bandwidth by 500%. These benefits occurred by mitigating exposure risk in broadband procurement – the risk that providers win too few contracts to cover fixed infrastructure costs. Using a bounds approach, we show robustness of our estimates and document that participants saved at least as much as their federal subsidies and experienced substantial welfare gains. |
| JEL: | D44 H42 L86 L96 |
| Date: | 2025–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33498 |
| By: | Marcén, Miriam; Morales, Marina |
| Abstract: | This work examines the effect of next-generation broadband on marriage rates among opposite- and same-sex couples in Spain. Given that the decision to sustain a relationship and enter into marriage is influenced by a broad spectrum of opportunities, high-speed broadband access can play a pivotal role in reducing search frictions, enhancing communication, and influencing cultural norms, thereby exerting a positive impact on marriage rates for both homosexual and heterosexual individuals. However, it is not clear whether the magnitude of the impact is the same for both groups. To explore this issue, we exploit plausible exogenous geographic and temporal variations in next-generation broadband coverage. We merge microdata on all Spanish marriages from 2013 to 2022 with the annual proportion of households with access to next-generation broadband via Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) at the municipal level. Our findings indicate that an increase in local FTTH coverage is associated with a higher crude marriage rate, controlling for municipality and time fixed effects. The response of same-sex marriages is twice as large as that of heterosexual marriages, relative to their respective average marriage rates. Empirical evidence does not support improved positive assortative mating as an explanation for the differing response observed among same-sex couples. High-speed internet access reinforces positive assortative mating by education and occupation for opposite-sex couples. Supplementary analysis, using data on public funding, shows that government support for expanding FTTH through the Next Generation Broadband Expansion Programme translates into an increase in the crude marriage rate, highlighting the appeal of areas with high-speed internet in addressing depopulation. |
| Keywords: | Next-generation boradband, Fiber-to-the-Home, Marriage rates, Same-sex couples, Public Policies |
| JEL: | J12 O33 L96 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1570 |
| By: | Maurel, Mathilde; Pernet, Thomas |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of using the Internet and social networks as sources of information on individuals' understanding of democracy. The analysis draws on data from the sixth round of the Afrobarometer survey, conducted in 2014, across a sample of African countries, some of which are democracies and others non-democracies. This topic has received limited attention in the economic literature, despite its relevance in understanding political preferences and behaviors. The sixth round of the Afrobarometer survey is particularly suited for this analysis, as it is the only wave to include both open-ended and closed-ended questions regarding individuals' understanding of democracy. In this study, we prioritize openended questions as we consider them to better capture individuals' conceptual grasp of democracy. However, we also use closed-ended questions to test the robustness of our results. Open-ended responses are structured and analyzed using the ChatGPT tool to extract meaningful insights. The identification strategy leverages the interaction between lightning activity and 3G coverage. Lightning activity introduces random interruptions in Internet access, creating an exogenous source of variation that enables causal inference. Our results indicate that the bias in understanding democracy induced by reliance on the Internet and social networks as information sources is predominantly negative. This negative bias extends to individuals' perceptions of freedom of expression and institutional corruption in political regimes. Conversely, we find a positive bias regarding perceptions of the fairness of the electoral process. These findings carry significant implications, as we document a positive association between the understanding of democracy and the preference for democratic systems. This suggests that distortions caused by Internet use, which has become a major source of information in Africa, may influence individuals' political preferences and attitudes. |
| Keywords: | Internet news, Democracy, Misunderstanding of Democracy, Africa |
| JEL: | G2 G32 L25 L6 Q53 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1571 |
| By: | Arntz, Melanie; Findeisen, Sebastian; Maurer, Stephan; Schlenker, Oliver |
| Abstract: | This study quantifies the relationship between workplace digitalization, i.e., the increasing use of frontier technologies, and workers' health outcomes using novel and representative German linked employer-employee data. Based on changes in individual-level use of technologies between 2011 and 2019, we find that digitalization induces similar shifts into more complex and service-oriented tasks across all workers but exacerbates health inequality between cognitive and manual workers. Unlike more mature, computer-based technologies, frontier technologies of the recent technology wave substantially lower manual workers' subjective health and increase sick leave, while leaving cognitive workers unaffected. We provide evidence that the effects are mitigated in firms that provide training and assistance in the adjustment process for workers. |
| Keywords: | health; inequality; technology; machines; automation; tasks; capital-labor substitution |
| JEL: | J21 J23 J24 O33 |
| Date: | 2024–03–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:126827 |
| By: | Baganz, Emilie; McMahon, Tadgh; Khorana, Sukhmani; Magee, Liam; Culos, Ingrid |
| Abstract: | Globally we are living through a continuing transition into the ‘information age’, where information and communication technology has transformed almost every aspect of people’s lives. The COVID-19 pandemic arguably accelerated this change. For refugees, as with other people, digital inclusion is arguably critical to social inclusion. This article seeks to better understand the digital inclusion of refugees during the COVID-19 pandemic, using data from two phases of research conducted in 2020 and 2021 with refugees who had recently resettled in Australia. Digital inclusion was mapped against three domains – access, affordability, and literacy – used in the annual Australian Digital Inclusion Index. Our research makes three contributions: it examines levels of digital inclusion among recently arrived refugees; it explores the relation of these levels to social links and bonds; and discusses differences within the sample according to gender, age, language group and type of digital inclusion. |
| Date: | 2023–12–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:nqu8c_v1 |
| By: | Vargas Da Cruz, Marcio Jose; Pereira Lopez, Mariana De La Paz; Salgado Chavez, Edgar |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the relationship between disruptive technologies and access to finance for digital tech firms in Africa. Through textual analysis of data from Crunchbase and Pitchbook, the study explores how firms across different age cohorts incorporate disruptive technologies into their offerings in e-commerce, fintech, and information technology services. The findings reveal three key insights for African digital tech startups. First, African startups are less likely to incorporate disruptive technologies into their offerings compared to other regions, except for mobile payments. Second, incorporating these technologies is associated with more funding, but this link is weaker in Africa than in other regions. These results hold when excluding mobile payments and addressing potential endogeneity using instrumental variables. Third, firms that do incorporate disruptive technologies tend to secure funding earlier, with lower initial amounts, but are more likely to succeed in terms of exit or valuation growth than their peers. |
| Date: | 2023–12–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10633 |