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on Information and Communication Technologies |
| By: | Elias Aravantinos |
| Abstract: | This study introduces the Digital Competitiveness Index for Trade (DCIT), a composite metric integrating ICT readiness, broadband adoption, GDP per capita, foreign direct investment, government effectiveness, and trade volume to assess countries' digital trade competitiveness. The index captures the enabling conditions -- ICT innovation capacity, broadband diffusion, investment intensity, and macroeconomic fundamentals - that shape a nation's ability to participate in digital trade. Sensitivity analysis demonstrates strong robustness: adjusting ICT-FDI weights alters DCIT outcomes by only 26%, with near perfect linearity (R^2 = 0.9996). Predictive validation shows that DCIT is a strong explainer of trade connectivity growth (R^2 = 0.67) but a modest predictor of GDP expansion. Scenario simulations reveal that combined ICT and FDI acceleration consistently outperforms single-lever strategies, with gains increasing by cluster maturity (up to 10% in advanced clusters). High-growth scenarios generate a 50-60% uplift in competitiveness for mid-tier and advanced clusters, underscoring the importance of integrated digital investment strategies. |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2601.00842 |
| By: | Parinov, Sergey |
| Abstract: | Most existing studies of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and information technologies (IT) impact on the economy, focused on the automation of work processes with implications for employment, wages, and productivity. This article broadens the analytical perspective by examining how IT/AI influence the economy through the transformation of economic mechanisms—regulatory structures that ensure coordination and management of joint activities. Drawing on the Institutional Analysis and Development framework, the paper proposes a methodology for describing the universal functions of economic mechanisms and their associated information processes. The information processes are conceptualized as the targets of digitalization, aimed at reducing transaction costs, enhancing productivity, and improving the adaptability of the economy to external changes. The study presents an approach for selecting IT/AI solutions capable of increasing the efficiency of economic mechanisms and introduces the concept of systemic digitalization as a tool for sustainable economic growth. Finally, the paper outlines a “social order” directed at the IT/AI industry—a set of solutions whose implementation may yield substantial positive macroeconomic effects. |
| Keywords: | economic mechanisms, information processes, IT/AI solutions, institutional analysis |
| JEL: | D02 D23 L86 O33 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:127446 |
| By: | Agata Kałamucka (University of Warsaw, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Interdisciplinary Centre for Labour Market and Family Dynamics); Anna Matysiak (University of Warsaw, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Interdisciplinary Centre for Labour Market and Family Dynamics); Beata Osiewalska (University of Warsaw, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Interdisciplinary Centre for Labour Market and Family Dynamics; Cracow University of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Advances in information and communication technologies have accelerated the diffusion of flexible working-time arrangements, with important implications for work–family reconciliation and fertility. Yet flexible schedules are not uniform. Employee-oriented flexibility, which grants workers control over when they work, differs fundamentally from employer-oriented flexibility, characterised by unpredictable hours and employer-driven schedule changes. These forms are unevenly distributed across social groups and may have contrasting consequences for family formation. While previous research has focused largely on women and employee-oriented flexibility, much less is known about how men’s working-time flexibility—particularly employer-oriented forms—shapes fertility behaviour. This paper examines the association between fathers’ working-time flexibility and the transition to a second birth in Germany. Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) for 2003–2019 and applying event history analysis, we analyse couples with one child, adopting a couple-level perspective that accounts for mothers’ employment status and schedule flexibility. The results show no overall association between men’s flexible schedules and second births in baseline models. However, important heterogeneity emerges once a couple’s characteristics are considered. Among dual-earner couples, fathers’ employer-oriented working-time flexibility significantly reduces the likelihood of a second birth, particularly when mothers have fixed schedules. In contrast, employee-oriented flexibility is positively associated with second births, but only in male breadwinner couples. Further analyses reveal that these relationships also vary by men’s socio-economic status. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between types of flexibility and considering couple-level contexts when assessing how labour market changes influence fertility. |
| Keywords: | working-time flexibility, fertility, flexible hours, Germany, GSOEP |
| JEL: | J12 J13 J16 J22 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:war:wpaper:2026-1 |
| By: | Kemal Ozbek |
| Abstract: | We study optimal auction design in an independent private values environment where bidders can endogenously -- but at a cost -- improve information about their own valuations. The optimal mechanism is two-stage: at stage-1 bidders register an information acquisition plan and pay a transfer; at stage-2 they bid, and allocation and payments are determined. We show that the revenue-optimal stage-2 rule is the Vickrey--Clarke--Groves (VCG) mechanism, while stage-1 transfers implement the optimal screening of types and absorb information rents consistent with incentive compatibility and participation. By committing to VCG ex post, the pre-auction information game becomes a potential game, so equilibrium information choices maximize expected welfare; the stage-1 fee schedule then transfers an optimal amount of payoff without conditioning on unverifiable cost scales. The design is robust to asymmetric primitives and accommodates a wide range of information technologies, providing a simple implementation that unifies efficiency and optimal revenue in environments with endogenous information acquisition. |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2512.07798 |