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on Information and Communication Technologies |
| By: | Lipowski, Cäcilia |
| Abstract: | Firms in developed countries face increasing shortages of young workers. This paper studies the importance of young workers, particularly vocational trainees, for firm technology investments. Leveraging exogenous variation in trainee supply caused by an education reform in Germany in 2001, I show that a reduction in trainee supply decreases firm technology investments. This suggests complementarity between young workers and new technologies. Consistent with firms' lower opportunity costs and higher returns to training young workers than incumbents, the effect is driven by firms exposed to new tech skills. These findings dampen hopes of counteracting labor shortages by substituting labor with capital. |
| Keywords: | Endogenous Technological Change, Labor Shortages, Firm Investments, Capital Adjustment Costs, Vintage-Specific Skills |
| JEL: | D22 D24 J21 J24 O33 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:312181 |
| By: | Vergara Cobos, Estefania Belen; Malasquez Carbonel, Eduardo Alonso |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a compressive synthesis of the most recent and widely cited literature on the economic effects of information and communications technology adoption at the country, firm, and individual levels. The study surveys and analyzes the available literature on the topics of economic growth and transformation, and highlights the main conclusions drawn by scholars, areas of ongoing debate, and remaining research questions that need to be addressed in future work. Over 85 percent of the reviewed papers are of quantitative nature, and approximately 32% of those show causal effects. The majority of the studies find a positive relationship between the adoption of information and communications technology and country economic growth, firm level growth, household/individual welfare, or labor conditions, with most showing statistically significant results. The paper shows that, for policy making purposes, the effects of information and communications technology adoption should be thoroughly evaluated at all levels to ensure that the benefits outweigh any potential negative consequences. |
| Date: | 2023–03–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10352 |
| By: | Lokshin, Michael M.; Widmar, Eduardo Martin |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes a new Green Government IT index to assess the environmentally responsible use of computers and other resources by the information technology departments of government institutions and nonprofit organizations. The methodology used in the paper relies on the established literature on index construction and the existing models for evaluating the environmental sustainability of information and communications technologies. The paper discusses the conceptual and theoretical foundations behind the new index and defines a set of verifiable, comparable, and transparent indicators for index construction. This framework allows for future index revisions as the green agenda evolves. The new index could be the first step before more resource-intensive assessments to inform an organization’s long-term environmentally sustainable strategy. |
| Date: | 2023–03–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10361 |
| By: | Foster, Vivien; Gorgulu, Nisan; Jain, Dhruv; Straub, Stéphane; Vagliasindi, Maria |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a meta-analysis of the infrastructure research done over more than three decades, using a database of over a thousand estimates from 221 papers reporting outcome elasticities. The analysis casts a wide net to include the transport, energy, and digital or information and communication technology (ICT) sectors, and the whole set of outcomes covered in the literature, including output, employment and wages, inequality and poverty, trade, education and health, population, and environmental aspects. The results allow for an update of the underlying parameters of interest, the “true” underlying infrastructure elasticities, accounting for publication bias, as well as for heterogeneity stemming from both study design and context, with a particular focus on developing countries. |
| Date: | 2023–03–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10350 |
| By: | Mensah, Justice Tei |
| Abstract: | his paper presents global evidence on the impact of expansion in mobile telephony and broadband Internet services on economic development at the subnational level. Leveraging two decades of satellite data on nightlights and the global expansion of 2G, 3G, and 4G mobile networks in over 34, 000 subnational districts in 120 countries, it documents three main findings on the effects of mobile phones on local economic development (proxied by nightlights): I. The expansion of mobile coverage has a positive effect on economic activity. Using the GDP—nightlights elasticity from Henderson et al. (2012), the estimates suggest a GDP growth—mobile phone penetration elasticity of 0.018–0.023; II. While mobile broadband (3G & 4G) Internet connectivity is associated with economic development across all countries, 2G connectivity boosts local economic growth mainly in developing countries; III. The economic effects of expansion in mobile network connectivity are more pronounced in countries that hitherto had limited access to fixed-line telephone infrastructure, thus highlighting the importance of mobile phones to developing countries in leapfrogging the technology ladder. |
| Date: | 2023–07–24 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10526 |
| By: | Nayyar, Gaurav; Davies, Elwyn Adriaan Robin |
| Abstract: | The service sector accounted for two-thirds of economic growth in emerging market and developing economies over the past three decades. It consists of a wide range of activities, ranging from high-skilled offshorable services, such as information and communications technology (ICT) and professional services, to low-skilled “contact” services, such as retail and hospitality. The pandemic disrupted many low-skilled contact services that typically require face-to-face interactions between providers and consumers. High-skilled offshorable services were the least affected owing to the use of digital technology that enabled remote delivery. Increased digitalization has improved prospects for scale economies and innovation in the service sector that were previously constrained by the need for physical proximity and the lack of opportunities to augment labor with capital. Policies to support the diffusion of digital technologies could therefore further raise the growth potential of the service sector. Policies to improve market access for, and skills in, ICT and professional services could ease important constraints on growth opportunities in these high-skilled offshorable services that have best withstood the pandemic. The same holds true for policies, including regulatory reforms, that promote investment in low-skilled contact services, such as transportation, which have important linkages with the wider economy. |
| Date: | 2023–03–27 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10382 |
| By: | Sanchis-Guarner, Rosa; Montalbán, José; Weinhardt, Felix |
| Abstract: | Using administrative data, we estimate the effect of home broadband speed on student-level value-added test scores. Our headline estimate relies on jumps in connection quality between close neighbours that occur across thousands of invisible telephone exchange station catchment-area boundaries. We find that increasing speed by 1 Mbit/s increases test scores by 1.37 percentile ranks, equivalent to 5% of a standard deviation. School-level factors or broadband take-up cannot explain this. Instead, the positive effects are concentrated among high-ability and non-free-school-meal eligible students and result from more education-oriented internet use. Differences in ICT quality can thus lead to increasing education inequalities. |
| Keywords: | broadband; education; spatial regression discontinuity |
| JEL: | J24 I21 I28 D83 |
| Date: | 2024–02–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:126832 |
| By: | Sangmin Aum; Yongseok Shin |
| Abstract: | We investigate the impact of digital technology on employment patterns in Korea, where firms have rapidly adopted digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and the internet of things (IoT). By exploiting regional variations in technology exposure, we find significant negative effects on high-skill and female workers, particularly those in non-IT (information technology) services. This contrasts with previous technological disruptions, such as the IT revolution and robotization, which primarily affected low-skill male workers in manufacturing. In IT services, although high-skill employment declined, vacancy postings for high-skill workers increased, implying a shift in labor demand toward newer skill sets. These findings highlight both the labor displacement and the new opportunities generated by digital transformation. |
| JEL: | J24 O33 |
| Date: | 2025–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33469 |
| By: | Michael R. Richards; Maggie Shi; Christopher M. Whaley |
| Abstract: | Information technology (IT) can enhance firms’ long-run performance but is also a risky investment, with high fixed costs and uncertain returns. Whether market events influence this tradeoff has received limited attention. We leverage the healthcare context to empirically examine hospitals’ IT investments following economic downturns and public insurance expansions––i.e., large industry shocks in opposite directions. We find novel and symmetrical responses. Recessions restrain investments while expansion policy indirectly stimulates them. Importantly, the IT margin is more elastic than other spending responses to market fluctuations. Supplementary analyses suggest that hospitals’ finances and perceptions of uncertainty drive these capital investment adjustments. |
| JEL: | H42 I1 I11 I13 I18 L21 L23 L24 |
| Date: | 2025–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33487 |
| By: | Diego Zunino (SKEMA Business School - SKEMA Business School, GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur); Bruno Cirillo (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur, SKEMA Business School - SKEMA Business School); Filippo Carlo Wezel; Stefano Breschi |
| Abstract: | Abstract New entrants and incumbent firms rely on new knowledge to innovate and compete in the market. One way to acquire new knowledge is through the recruitment of new employees from competitors, a phenomenon popularly known as "poaching." Digital labor platforms are widely used by firms for this aim. We argue that job titles represent the first and most visible public source of information about knowledge workers and thus play a key role in navigating the vast spectrum of competencies available in digital platforms. Our analyses of the career trajectories of 11, 644 knowledge workers in the United States between 2004 and 2014 suggest that increases in the ambiguity of a job title claimed by an employee are negatively associated with the likelihood of the employee being hired by a new employer. This finding appears stronger in the case of transitions to incumbent firms rather than new entrants. In the concluding section of the paper, we take stock of the various analyses presented and reflect on the potential role of job titles in the strategic management of human capital. |
| Keywords: | Job titles Categorization theory New entrant and incumbent firms LinkedIn, Job titles, Categorization theory, New entrant and incumbent firms, LinkedIn |
| Date: | 2024–02–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04918213 |
| By: | Foster, Vivien; Gorgulu, Nisan; Straub, Stéphane; Vagliasindi, Maria |
| Abstract: | Policy makers have long used investing in public infrastructure as a means of reducing geographical disparities and promoting growth. The goal of this paper is to provide insights to development practitioners on designing interventions to maximize the development impact of infrastructure. For this, the paper presents a systematic qualitative overview of the literature, covering more than 300 studies conducted between 1983 and 2022, focusing on specific infrastructure sectors, namely digital, energy, and transport. The study also considers various dimensions of development impact, including output and productivity, poverty and inequality, labor market outcomes, human capital formation, and trade, to develop a nuanced understanding of the mechanisms through which infrastructure contributes to these development outcomes, focusing on low- and middle-income countries. As such, it is the most substantive effort of its kind to date. Overall, despite some mixed results, the overwhelming balance of evidence suggests that infrastructure improvements are critical in supporting the development process. Studies on digital infrastructure show that firm productivity, employment, and welfare increase with the arrival of broadband internet coverage. In addition, the availability of mobile phones improves coordination between producers and traders and hence reduces the price dispersion of agricultural products. Turning to rural electrification, significant literature documents the positive impact of infrastructure on household welfare, structural transformation, and human capital formation through increased labor force participation, more time spent on education, and increased indoor air quality. Investments in the reliability of power supply also contribute to firms’ productivity. However, studies based on randomized controlled trials have not tended to find a substantial short-term impact in the context of dispersed rural populations. Finally, there is rich literature on various transport infrastructure-to-development linkages, particularly for rural roads and for Sub-Saharan Africa. While households’ income and consumption benefit from the existence of rural roads, highways are also found to contribute to firms’ competitiveness. Similarly, public transportation, railways, and ports have positive impacts on the development process. |
| Date: | 2023–03–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10343 |
| By: | Soundararajan, Vidhya; Soubeiga, Sidiki; Newhouse, David Locke; Palacios-Lopez, Amparo; Pape, Utz Johann; Weber, Michael |
| Abstract: | Online surveys are convenient, cost-effective, speedy, and increasingly popular instruments for data collection. This study investigates whether online surveys that used Random Domain Intercept Technology to recruit respondents were accurately measured labor market outcomes in six middle-income countries in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared with the national average, online surveys oversampled males, youth, those with higher levels of education, and those in smaller households. Reweighting using propensity score estimates fails to equalize the means of variables excluded from the model. When comparing the employment-to-population ratio from the internet surveys to the most recent relevant nationally representative surveys, the average deviation is 30 percent. Reweighting using propensity scores in that case worsened the bias. Internet survey estimates of informal and self-employment rates also tend to be inconsistent with benchmark data, although the latter are available for fewer countries. Overall, the results suggest that despite the advantages and convenience of recruiting internet survey participants through Random Domain Intercept Technology, the resulting sample is not representative and even after propensity score reweighting, it can yield estimates that are at odds with nationally representative surveys. |
| Date: | 2023–03–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10359 |
| By: | Tomohiro Ando; Jushan Bai; Kunpeng Li; Yong Song |
| Abstract: | With the rapid advancement of information technology and data collection systems, large-scale spatial panel data presents new methodological and computational challenges. This paper introduces a dynamic spatial panel quantile model that incorporates unobserved heterogeneity. The proposed model captures the dynamic structure of panel data, high-dimensional cross-sectional dependence, and allows for heterogeneous regression coefficients. To estimate the model, we propose a novel Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm. Contributions to Bayesian computation include the development of quantile randomization, a new Gibbs sampler for structural parameters, and stabilization of the tail behavior of the inverse Gaussian random generator. We establish Bayesian consistency for the proposed estimation method as both the time and cross-sectional dimensions of the panel approach infinity. Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. Finally, we illustrate the applicability of the approach through a case study on the quantile co-movement structure of the gasoline market. |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2503.00772 |
| By: | Plantinga, Paul; Shilongo, Kristophina; Mudongo, Oarabile; Umubyeyi, Angelique; Gastrow, Michael; Razzano, Gabriella |
| Abstract: | Several African countries are developing artificial intelligence (AI) strategies and ethics frameworks with the goal of accelerating responsible AI development and adoption. However, many of these governance actions are emerging without consideration for their suitability to local contexts, including whether the proposed policies are feasible to implement and what their impact may be on regulatory outcomes. In response, we suggest that there is a need for more explicit policy learning, by looking at existing governance capabilities and experiences related to algorithms, automation, data and digital technology in other countries and in adjacent sectors. From such learning it will be possible to identify where existing capabilities may be adapted or strengthened to address current AI-related opportunities and risks. This paper explores the potential for learning by analysing existing policy and legislation in twelve African countries across three main areas: strategy and multi-stakeholder engagement, human dignity and autonomy, and sector-specific governance. The findings point to a variety of existing capabilities that could be relevant to responsible AI; from existing model management procedures used in banking and air quality assessment, to efforts aimed at enhancing public sector skills and transparency around public-private partnerships, and the way in which existing electronic transactions legislation addresses accountability and human oversight. All of these point to the benefit of wider engagement on how existing governance mechanisms are working, and on where AI-specific adjustments or new instruments may be needed. |
| Date: | 2023–09–26 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:jyhae_v1 |
| By: | Le, Daniel |
| Abstract: | Since the 1986 Doi Moi reform, an increasing number of labor migrants and students leave Vietnam every year for better opportunities abroad. During the same period, members of the diaspora have been returning to the country. According to government estimates, over 500, 000 Vietnamese return to Vietnam each year to work, live, and retire. Among these returnees are a group who have made Vietnam their home: the Western-born, second generation. This paper explores the significance of online community memberships in the construction of identity and belonging among Western-born Vietnamese who “return” to their ancestral homeland. Drawing on 32 online in-depth interviews with second generation Vietnamese living in Vietnam, from 11 disparate Western countries, it underscores how identity and belonging, state policies, and information communication technologies (ICTs) intersect to prompt and obscure the ethnic returns of western-born Vietnamese migrants. |
| Date: | 2023–08–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:8m3vj_v1 |