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on Information and Communication Technologies |
| By: | Hecker, Britta (IAB and the University of Bamberg); Shure, Nikki (University College London); Yükselen Saif, Ipek (No longer in academia (formerly IAB and University of Bamberg)) |
| Abstract: | We examine how adolescents' domain-specific confidence shapes subsequent participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) study and vocational training, using longitudinal data from a nationally representative cohort of German secondary school students. We show that domain-specific confidence measures provide markedly different predictions from composite confidence indices: in line with established models from educational psychology, higher confidence in mathematics and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) increase the likelihood of entering STEM pathways, whereas higher confidence in reading decreases it. These opposing patterns are obscured when confidence is aggregated into a single measure. Our findings demonstrate the importance of distinguishing between domains when studying non-cognitive determinants of STEM choices and suggest that broad confidence-building interventions may unintentionally reinforce existing gender disparities in STEM participation. |
| Keywords: | confidence, STEM, education, gender |
| JEL: | I24 I23 D91 J24 J16 |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18535 |
| By: | Jeoung Yul Lee (EM - EMLyon Business School); Jooyoung Kwak (Yonsei University); Shinwon Noh (University of St. Thomas - Minnesota (United States, Saint Paul) - UST) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates how global city characteristics shape the acceptance of non-mainstream cultural goods-focusing on K-pop-as they diffuse across digital platforms. While prior research emphasizes fandom, soft power or media strategies, this research highlights the role of urban infrastructure in cultural globalization. Global cities, with their high levels of connectivity, digital infrastructure and cosmopolitanism, serve as hubs for transnational cultural flows. Drawing on international business, marketing and media studies, the study theorizes that four urban factors-Korean foreign direct investment (FDI), diaspora presence, ICT infrastructure and educational attainment-positively influence K-pop popularity. It furthers proposes that these effects vary by platform: YouTube's visual, algorithm-driven environment may amplify the effects of FDI and ICT, while Spotify's audio-focused, user-curated model may be more influenced by diaspora and education. Using rare-event logistic regression on data from 3786 K-pop hits across 710 US cities (via YouTube and Spotify), the study finds robust support for these hypotheses. Overall, it offers a new perspective on the intersection of urban infrastructure and digital platforms in facilitating the global spread of cultural products, with K-pop servicing as a revealing case of how emerging-market content circulates in the contemporary media landscape. |
| Keywords: | diaspora presence, ICT infrastructure, educational attainment, K-pop, digital platforms, soft power, spread of cultural products, Korean foreign direct investment (FDI), global cities, urban infrastructure |
| Date: | 2026–03–24 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05589070 |
| By: | Helanya Fourie; Debra Shepherd |
| Abstract: | Evaluates whether access to fibre broadband improves economic participation in a South African township. The study finds that home fibre is associated with greater labour market engagement and increased opportunities for self-employment. |
| Keywords: | broadband, fibre, labour market, township, South Africa |
| JEL: | J21 L96 O18 |
| Date: | 2025–11–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cxs:wpaper:202508 |
| By: | Duran-Vanegas, Juan |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and firm-level productivity growth in a middle-income economy. Combining data on AI use from the 2019 Colombian Enterprise ICT Survey with longitudinal manufacturing data, I estimate productivity growth differentials between adopters and non-adopters while accounting for pre-adoption characteristics and productivity trajectories using entropy balancing. AI adoption is associated with a 16 percent cumulative increase in labor productivity over 2016–2019, equivalent to roughly 5 percent annualized growth. These differentials appear to be driven by higher sales and value added rather than reductions in costs or employment, are similar among in-house and outsourced AI developments, and increase for firms with higher pre-existing technical capabilities. Finally, the analysis points to changes in organizational structure as a potential adjustment margin. AI adoption is associated with a small but significant decline in the share of administrative workers, suggesting a reallocation of tasks away from administrative functions. |
| Date: | 2026–04–17 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:64nmf_v1 |
| By: | Alexander Bick; Adam Blandin; David Deming; Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln; Jonas Jessen |
| Abstract: | U.S. firms have a higher share of workers using AI than European firms. This analysis finds management practices are a surprisingly powerful predictor of usage. |
| Keywords: | generative artificial intelligence (AI); technology adoption; management practice |
| Date: | 2026–04–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:l00001:103027 |
| By: | Ziyoqulova, Aziza; Egamberdiev, Bekhzod |
| Abstract: | The findings in this study are novel and relevant for defining human capital as a factor in e-government development. The main objective of this working paper is to contribute to the consolidation of the understanding of the relationship between digital literacy and e-Governance. The study constructs the digital literacy and e-government index using the predicted values from the factor analysis. The dataset used in this study was obtained from the Life in Transition Survey (LiTS). This study aims to analyze the relationship between digital literacy and e-government in Central Asian Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. |
| Keywords: | E-government, Digital literacy, Central Asia |
| JEL: | A1 C12 H10 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:340041 |
| By: | Helanya Fourie; Debra Shepherd |
| Abstract: | Analyses how improved internet access affects online behaviour. Results show increased use of the internet for education, job search, and information access following the rollout of fibre broadband. |
| Keywords: | internet access, broadband, digital behaviour, township, South Africa |
| JEL: | L96 J24 O18 |
| Date: | 2025–11–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cxs:wpaper:202509 |