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on Information and Communication Technologies |
| By: | Arntz, Melanie; Baum, Myriam; Brüll, Eduard; Dorau, Ralf; Hartwig, Matthias; Matthes, Britta; Meyer, Sophie-Charlotte; Schlenker, Oliver; Tisch, Anita; Wischniewski, Sascha |
| Abstract: | Artificial intelligence (AI) is diffusing rapidly in the workplace, yet aggregate productivity gains remain limited. This paper examines the dual diffusion of AI - through both formal, employer-led and informal, employee-initiated adoption - as potential explanation. Using a representative survey of nearly 10, 000 employees in Germany, we document a high extensive but low intensive margin of usage: while 64 percent use AI tools, only 20 percent use them frequently. This diffusion is strongly skill-biased and depends less on establishment and regional characteristics. While formality is associated with more frequent usage, training, AI-based supervision, and higher perceived productivity gains, it does not broaden access. These patterns suggest that widespread informal usage can coexist with limited productivity effects when complementary investments and organizational integration lag behind. |
| Keywords: | artificial intelligence, AI, technology diffusion, formal and informal adoption, training, algorithmic management, productivity, inequality |
| JEL: | O33 O32 J24 J81 C83 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:336765 |
| By: | Carsten Fink; Maria de las Mercedes Menéndez; Julio Raffo |
| Abstract: | Technology diffusion is central to economic development. This paper examines diffusion patterns for 31 technologies for 139 countries over two centuries, extending existing databases to include recent digital technologies and renewable energy technologies. Using cross-country panel regressions, we find that while adoption lags have declined from 50 years (pre-1950) to 15 years (post-2000), adoption intensity in developing economies remains at 53% of advanced economy levels. We document diverging intensity for older technologies but emerging convergence for post-2000 technologies, suggesting digital innovations may reduce the technology gap. These findings inform policies aimed at accelerating technology diffusion to developing economies. |
| Keywords: | Technology diffusion, Digital technologies, Adoption lag, Intensity of use |
| JEL: | O33 O47 O57 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wip:wpaper:91 |
| 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) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this research is to examine the relationship between ICT infrastructure and the women's economic empowerment, considering the quality of democracy. Based on a fixed effects model covering the period 2005–2022 using a panel of WAEMU countries, our estimation results reveal that information and communication technology infrastructures negatively affect the economic automation of women in the region. Conversely, democracy positively influences the women's economic empowerment. Furthermore, the interaction between ICT infrastructure and democracy positively impacts women's participation in the labor market, thus confirming the catalytic role of democracy in the relationship between ICT infrastructure and women's economic empowerment. These results imply the need for efforts to strengthen the democratization of access to ICT infrastructure in order to promote the growth of women's empowerment in the study area. |
| Abstract: | Déclaration de divulgation : L'auteur n'a pas connaissance de quelconque financement qui pourrait affecter l'objectivité de cette étude. Conflit d'intérêts : L'auteur ne signale aucun conflit d'intérêts. |
| Keywords: | Democracy ICT women empowerment catalytic effect WAEMU. African Scientific Journal, Democracy, ICT, women empowerment, catalytic effect, WAEMU. African Scientific Journal |
| Date: | 2025–12–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05421977 |
| By: | Joel Cariolle |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews the concepts, mechanisms, and empirical evidence on the diffusion of digital technologies (DTs) in developing economies, focusing on the distinct infrastructural layers of connectivity—from first-mile submarine cables to last-mile mobile and broadband networks. It examines how infrastructure gaps, usage disparities, and technological divides shape digitalization pathways and their socio-economic impacts, with a particular emphasis on lower-income regions like Sub-Saharan Africa. The analysis highlights how submarine cables reduce connectivity costs and expand Internet access, yet also reveals uneven benefits due to limited absorptive capacity and new digital vulnerabilities. By synthesizing evidence on rural mobile coverage, urban Internet spillovers, and trade integration, the paper emphasizes the need for coordinated policies to bridge digital divides and foster inclusive digital transformation. |
| Keywords: | Digital technologies, Connectivity, Internet, Mobile, Infrastructure, Submarine cable, Mobile networks, Africa |
| JEL: | O14 O33 L96 O55 F63 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wip:wpaper:96 |
| By: | Sana Khalil |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how gender and residential socioeconomic status shape hiring outcomes in the information technology sector using a field experiment from the city of Karachi, Pakistan. Employers in Pakistan can openly state preferences regarding gender, residential location, and other characteristics, but the majority in the information technology sector choose not to do so. This creates an opportunity to examine whether discrimination persists when such biases are not explicitly stated. An analysis of explicitly gender-targeted job ads shows that men are preferred over women across most occupations, even in traditionally pink-collar roles. Moreover, results from a resume audit experiment, submitting 2, 032 applications to 508 full-time job openings, show that men receive more callbacks for job interviews than women, even in the absence of explicit gender preferences in job ads. The study also indicates a significant premium favoring candidates from high-income areas, who receive 45 percent more callbacks than applicants from low-income neighborhoods. This advantage remains robust even after controlling for commuting distance. Qualitative interviews with human resource officials suggest that employers associate productivity with both gender and neighborhood socioeconomic status. Residential address acts as a proxy for class background and signals education, skills, and perceived "fit" in professional settings. These perceptions may reinforce stereotypes, disadvantaging women and candidates from low-income backgrounds. |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2602.08134 |
| By: | Admiral Athallah Darmawan; Jahen Fachrul Rezki (Institute for Economic and Social Research, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Indonesia (LPEM FEB UI)) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the resilience of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) during the COVID-19 pandemic by analyzing firm characteristics and entrepreneurial competencies. Utilizing a meta-analysis approach, 60 literature studies and 425 empirical estimates were examined. The findings reveal that entrepreneurial competence, encompassing entrepreneurial orientation, networking and social capital, and human capital, significantly enhances MSME resilience more than firm characteristics such as firm size, business age, and financial capital. Additionally, technological utilization and cultural aspects (uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and motivation towards achievements and success) were assessed as moderating factors. The results indicate that robust ICT infrastructure, proficiency, and utilization, along with supportive policies, bolster MSME resilience. The study also underscores the negative impact of high uncertainty avoidance and individualism on resilience, whereas motivation towards achievement and success positively influences resilience. The analysis of Indonesian MSMEs, incorporating 26 literature studies and 91 empirical estimates, corroborates these findings, highlighting the greater impact of entrepreneurial competence. The study suggests the need for targeted policies and support programs to enhance MSME resilience through technological and cultural adaptation. |
| Keywords: | MSME resilience — entrepreneurial competence — firm characteristics — meta-analysis |
| JEL: | L25 L26 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lpe:wpaper:202582 |
| By: | Carlos Bianchi (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Pablo Galaso (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Sofía Maio (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Sergio Palomeque (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía) |
| Abstract: | We analyse advanced ICTs acquisition in the territorial innovation system of the forestry and ecotourism industry in Uruguay, considering both firms and support organizations related to these sectors. Using social network analysis, we identify that firms follow different strategies of collaboration which generate distinct collective outcomes and imply varing individual costs and require diverse firms’ capabilities. We capture two different firms’ collaborative strategies by means of centrality indexes: intermediary (betweenness centrality) and well-connected (eigenvector centrality). While the latter captures a highly connected position in the network but without the costs of intermediating between third parties, the former does capture an intermediary role, which implies a central position in the network, but may entail costs for the holder. We estimate the effects of these collaboration strategies on the firms’ probability to adopt advanced ICTs. Our results show a positive effect of the well- connected collaboration strategy on the adoption of advanced ICTs while intermediary strategy has a negative effect on the probability to adopt advanced ICT. At the same time, a critical role of support organisations, mainly public, in the structure of the network can be observed. Taken together, these results show the relevance of collaboration as well as the trade-offs faced by intermediaries, highlighting the importance of public organisations in fostering knowledge flows between firms. |
| Keywords: | forestry, ecotourism, local innovation system, advanced ICTs, network analysis |
| JEL: | O14 O33 L14 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulr:wpaper:dt-19-25 |
| By: | Christos A. Makridis |
| Abstract: | Using longitudinal data from the Gallup Panel covering more than 30, 000 U.S. employees surveyed from 2023 to 2025, I document heterogeneous adoption of generative AI and its "organizational transmission" within firms. First, I show that the share of active (occasional) AI users grew from 9% to 24% (10% to 23%). I subsequently document these patterns by organizational class of work, organizational hierarchy, income, industry, and occupation. Second, I show that perceived strategic clarity is the dominant correlate of frequent adoption: employees in clear-strategy organizations are roughly 26 percentage points more likely to report frequent use. Strategic clarity itself is tightly linked to managerial communication and credibility, including meaningful feedback and trust in leadership. Third, exploiting within-person variation, income-by-time controls, and a job-switcher design, I show that the relationship between AI use and worker outcomes is strongly contingent on organizational context. Frequent AI use is associated with substantially higher engagement and job satisfaction and with markedly lower burnout when organizations communicate a clear AI strategy, while these benefits are muted or reversed in low-clarity environments. These results are consistent with the predictions from a stylized theoretical model whereby workers are more likely to adopt and experiment with AI when they experience psychological safety. |
| Keywords: | generative AI, technology adoption, managers, trust, communication, organizational complementarities, panel data |
| JEL: | O33 M15 M54 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12373 |