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on Information and Communication Technologies |
| By: | Felix ROTH (European Commission); Alessio MITRA |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the drivers of EU labour productivity before and after the 2007 financial crisis, across goods and services sectors, tangible and intangible assets, and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and non-ICT tangibles. |
| Keywords: | Economics, competitiveness, growth, ICT, labour productivity |
| JEL: | O32 O33 O38 |
| Date: | 2025–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eug:wpaper:ki-01-25-006-en-n |
| By: | Brandyn F. Churchill; Kathryn R. Johnson |
| Abstract: | Broadband internet has become a critical component of U.S. infrastructure, but policymakers are increasingly concerned that the widespread adoption of this technology has adversely affected adolescent mental health. To test this hypothesis, we use 2009–2019 National and State Youth Risk Behavior Survey data and leverage the nationwide rollout of broadband internet. First, we show that adolescents in states with greater broadband internet access reported spending more time online. Next, we find that a one-standard-deviation increase in broadband internet access was associated with a 9.3–16.5-percent increase in adolescent suicide ideation. While we document increases in suicide ideation for both girls and boys, the results are most pronounced for adolescent girls. Exploring potential mechanisms, we show that greater broadband internet access was associated with increases in cyberbullying and body dissatisfaction among adolescent girls and a reduction in the likelihood that adolescent boys reported getting an adequate amount of sleep. |
| JEL: | I12 I18 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34614 |
| By: | Ousmane Sambou (UGB - Université Gaston Berger de Saint-Louis Sénégal, LARES - Laboratoire de Recherche en Economie de Saint-Louis - UGB - Université Gaston Berger de Saint-Louis Sénégal); Abdoul Aziz Ndiaye (UGB - Université Gaston Berger de Saint-Louis Sénégal, LARES - Laboratoire de Recherche en Economie de Saint-Louis - UGB - Université Gaston Berger de Saint-Louis Sénégal) |
| Abstract: | Although the relationship between internet penetration and structural transformation, as well as the link between foreign direct investment (FDI) and structural transformation, have been studied separately, this paper examines the role of the interaction between internet penetration and FDI on the dynamic of structural transformation. The study is based on a panel of 15 ECOWAS countries and covers the period from 2000 to 2023. The results from the system generalized method of moments (GMM-sys) estimation show that foreign direct investment has a negative impact on the dynamics of structural transformation whereas internet penetration promotes this structural transformation process. Furthermore, the interaction between internet penetration and foreign direct investment has a positive impact on structural transformation. These results suggest the need to improve and to foster internet penetration and to channel foreign direct investment into the manufacturing sector in order to support a stronger structural transformation process in West African economies. |
| Abstract: | Bien que la relation entre la pénétration d'internet et la transformation structurelle et le lien entre les investissements directs étrangers (IDE) et la transformation structurelle aient été étudiés séparément, le présent article examine le rôle de l'interaction entre la pénétration d'internet et les IDE sur la dynamique de transformation structurelle. L'étude porte sur un panel de 15 pays de la CEDEAO et couvre la période 2000-2023. Les résultats de l'estimation par la méthode des moments généralisés en système (GMM-sys) montrent que les investissements directs étrangers ont un impact négatif sur la dynamique de transformation structurelle alors que la pénétration d'internet favorise cette dynamique de transformation structurelle. De plus, l'association entre la pénétration d'internet et les investissements directs étrangers exerce un impact positif sur la transformation structurelle. Ces résultats impliquent la nécessité d'améliorer et d'encourager la pénétration d'internet et d'orienter les investissements directs étrangers vers le secteur manufacturier afin de promouvoir un meilleur processus de transformation structurelle des économies de l'Afrique de l'Ouest |
| Keywords: | IDE, Internet, Transformation structurelle, CEDEAO, Interaction |
| Date: | 2025–08–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05297998 |
| By: | Banri ITO; Eiichi TOMIURA |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effect of initiating cross-border data flows on firm productivity, using original survey data from Japanese manufacturing and service firms collected in 2019 and 2021, merged with annual productivity measures over 2019–2022. The survey identifies new entrants into cross-border data transfers, enabling a difference-in-differences design that compares “switchers†to firms that either do not collect data or collect data only domestically. We estimate the average treatment effect on the treated using regression-adjustment, inverse probability weighting, and doubly robust AIPW DID estimators, controlling for exporter status, multinational affiliation, R&D intensity, and ICT cost intensity. The results show that firms with higher initial productivity are more likely to start transferring data internationally, which is consistent with self-selection patterns documented in the export- and FDI-related literature. Entry into cross-border data flows is associated with significant productivity gains, which become particularly pronounced in the year after entry. These findings provide rare firm-level evidence from Japan, while also offering broader insights for data-governance debates by highlighting the potential productivity costs of overly restrictive cross-border data regulations. |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:25125 |
| By: | Molitor, Cullen; Cohen, Juliet; Lewin, Grace; Cognac, Steven; Hadunka, Protensia; Proctor, Jonathan; Carleton, Tamma |
| Abstract: | Recent innovations in task-agnostic imagery featurization have lowered the computational costs of using machine learning to predict ground conditions from satellite imagery. These methods hold particular promise for the development of imagery-based monitoring systems in low-income regions, where data and computational resources can be limited. However, these relatively simple prediction pipelines have not been evaluated in developing-country contexts over time, limiting our understanding of their performance in practice. Here, we compute task-agnostic random convolutional features from satellite imagery and use linear ridge regression models to predict maize yields over space and time in Zambia, a country prone to severe droughts and crop failure. Leveraging Landsat and Sentinel 2 satellite constellations, in combination with district-level yield data, our model explains 83% of the out-of-sample maize yield variation from 2016 to 2021, slightly outperforming a model trained on Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) features, a common remote sensing approach used by practitioners to monitor crop health. Our approach maintains an R2 score of 0.74 when predicting temporal variation alone, while the performance of the NDVI-based approach drops to an R2 of 0.39. Our findings imply that this task-agnostic featurization can be used to predict spatial and temporal variation in agricultural outcomes, even in contexts with limited ground truth data. More broadly, these results point to imagery-based monitoring as a promising tool for assisting agricultural planning and food security, even in contexts where computationally expensive methodologies remain out of reach. |
| Keywords: | 37 Earth Sciences (for-2020), 3704 Geoinformatics (for-2020), Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (rcdc), Networking and Information Technology R&D (NITRD) (rcdc), Generic health relevance (hrcs-hc), 2 Zero Hunger (sdg), maize, yield prediction, Landsat, Sentinel, MOSAIKS, Zambia, 0203 Classical Physics (for), 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience (for), 0909 Geomatic Engineering (for), 3701 Atmospheric sciences (for-2020), 3709 Physical geography and environmental geoscience (for-2020), 4013 Geomatic engineering (for-2020) |
| Date: | 2025–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:agrebk:qt9c92m41k |
| By: | Alexia Delfino; Andrea Garnero; Sergio Inferrera; Marco Leonardi; Raffaella Sadun |
| Abstract: | We study barriers preventing jobseekers from pursuing reskilling in high-demand occupations. Using a discrete choice experiment, we quantify the demand for reskilling among Italian jobseekers in two white-collar high-demand occupations—information technology assistant and construction technician—and identify its main determinants. Willingness to pay estimates show that participants are willing to pay to reskill into IT, but would require compensation to reskill into construction. Beliefs about monetary returns and social status help explain differences in reskilling demand, but perceived identity fit in the target occupation emerges as the most important individual-level factor shaping reskilling decisions. A light-touch randomized information intervention providing data on occupational returns significantly increases both stated interest in reskilling and actual engagement in real-world training. |
| JEL: | D83 I20 J24 J32 J60 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34633 |