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on Payment Systems and Financial Technology |
| By: | Bouwman, Harry; de Reuver, Mark; Cavallini, Andrea; Lourens, Jeremy; Manocha, Swati; Vaessen, Maud; Dahlberg, T. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse15:127128&r=pay |
| By: | Stephanie Rend\'on de la Torre; Jaan Kalda; Robert Kitt; J\"uri Engelbrecht |
| Abstract: | This paper presents the first topological analysis of the economic structure of an entire country based on payments data obtained from Swedbank. This data set is exclusive in its kind because around 80% of Estonia's bank transactions are done through Swedbank, hence, the economic structure of the country can be reconstructed. Scale-free networks are commonly observed in a wide array of different contexts such as nature and society. In this paper, the nodes are comprised by customers of the bank (legal entities) and the links are established by payments between these nodes. We study the scaling-free and structural properties of this network. We also describe its topology, components and behaviors. We show that this network shares typical structural characteristics known in other complex networks: degree distributions follow a power law, low clustering coefficient and low average shortest path length. We identify the key nodes of the network and perform simulations of resiliency against random and targeted attacks of the nodes with two different approaches. With this, we find that by identifying and studying the links between the nodes is possible to perform vulnerability analysis of the Estonian economy with respect to economic shocks. |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1602.04352&r=pay |
| By: | Anna Wisniewska (Nicolaus Copernicus University, Poland) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this article is to show the position of Bitcoin among virtual currencies. On the basis of the reports published by the European Central Bank and The Financial Action Task Force, as well as the available Internet and primary sources, there have been presented the types and the history of virtual currencies, the way in which Bitcoin functions and the methods of acquiring it. The article is based on the assumption that an in-depth knowledge of virtual currencies, their classification and their functioning will make it possible to regulate their legal status. It is necessary not only for tax purposes, but also in order to avoid the risk of using this payment method for terrorist or criminal purposes. The knowledge of the history of virtual currencies also makes it possible to foresee the problems that may hinder the functioning of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies. The growing popularity of virtual currencies and cryptocurrencies is linked with the increase of importance of non-cash payments on global scale. Thus, Bitcoin may be considered a next step in the evolution of digital money. |
| Keywords: | bitcoin, virtual currencies, cryptocurrencies |
| JEL: | E40 G29 E49 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pes:wpaper:2015:no155&r=pay |
| By: | Ben Leo, Robert Morello, Jonathan Mellon, Tiago Peixoto, and Stephen Davenport |
| Abstract: | In this project, we analyzed whether mobile phone-based surveys are a feasible and cost-effective approach for gathering statistically representative information in four low-income countries (Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe). Specifically, we focused on three primary research questions. First, can the mobile phone survey platform reach a nationally representative sample? Second, to what extent does linguistic fractionalization affect the ability to produce a representative sample? Third, how effectively does monetary compensation impact survey completion patterns? We find that samples from countries with higher mobile penetration rates more closely resembled the actual population. After weighting on demographic variables, sample imprecision was a challenge in the two lower feasibility countries (Ethiopia and Mozambique) with a sampling error of +/- 5 to 7 percent, while Zimbabwe’s estimates were more precise (sampling error of +/- 2.8 percent). Surveys performed reasonably well in reaching poor demographics, especially in Afghanistan and Zimbabwe. Rural women were consistently under-represented in the country samples, especially in Afghanistan and Ethiopia. Countries’ linguistic fractionalization may influence the ability to obtain nationally representative samples, although a material effect was difficult to discern through penetration rates and market composition. Although the experimentation design of the incentive compensation plan was compromised in Ethiopia and Zimbabwe, it seems that offering compensation for survey completion mitigated attrition rates in several of the pilot countries while not reducing overall costs. These effects varied across countries and cultural settings. |
| Keywords: | mobile phone surveys, mobile phones, zimbabwe, ethiopia, mozambique, afghanistan |
| JEL: | O33 O14 O55 |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:398&r=pay |
| By: | Byrne, David M. (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.)); Corrado, Carol (The Conference Board) |
| Abstract: | Communication equipment plays as large a role in high-tech investment as computers, yet prices for communication equipment have not been studied as extensively as prices for computers and electronic components. Prices for satellites, cell phones, and the ground stations for these systems--important components of a nation's communications infrastructure--are difficult to locate in official statistics. This paper develops new price measures for 16 types of communications equipment from 1963 to 2009. Indexes for some (e.g., cellular phone systems) experience declines of 15-20 percent per year, similar to the decline in quality-adjusted prices for computers, and suggest that advances in wireless communications technology have been very rapid. All told, our price index for domestic production falls 4.8 percent per year on average over the time period we study and 9.8 percent per year on average since 1985--nearly 10 percentage points faster than the official U.S. producer price index introduced in that year. |
| Keywords: | ICT; communications equipment; price measurement; technical change; wireless technology; communications technology; communications equipment industry |
| Date: | 2015–09–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2015-69&r=pay |
| By: | Sobolewski, Maciej; Kopczewski, Tomasz |
| Abstract: | Bundling becomes a dominant sales strategy in telecommunications. Dual and triple-play packages are increasingly popular among subscribers. From operators’ perspective, a core issue in bundling design is the knowledge about how consumers value packages. In this paper we focus on elicitation of subscribers willingness to pay for bundles of fixed telecommunication services composed of telephony, Internet and paid TV. We conduct a stated preference discrete choice experiment on a sample of subscribers in Poland, to model subscription choices over packages of fixed services. We obtain estimates of mean willingness to pay as well as entire distributions of reservation prices for single services and possible combinations of bundles. We find that mean WTP for fixed telephony as a stand-alone service or an add-on to bundle is zero. This result suggest that fixed telephony has already become an obsolete service. Out of the three fixed services, Internet generates the biggest value for customers, driving up valuations of bundles. WTP for Internet is much higher than actually paid prices, leaving space for increase of profits. In contrast fixed telephony and pay TV seem to be overpaid which may create a pressure on operators’ revenue. |
| Keywords: | Bundling,stated choice experiment,willingness to pay,fixed telephony,fixed broadband,pay TV,dual play,triple play,fixed-to-mobile substitution |
| JEL: | C25 D12 L96 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse15:127182&r=pay |
| By: | Agiakloglou, Christos; Polemis, Michael |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to investigate the main determinants of Telecommunications demand for European countries (EU). For this reason, a panel data set is used consisting of 19 EU countries over the period 1991-2010 capturing the years before and after the liberalization process. The goal is to clarify whether any changes in the demand of Telecommunications, as expressed by volume traffic in local, mobile and international market segments, are attributed to regulatory process or to some other major drivers so that policy implications can be drawn, taking also into account the magnitude of the relevant price elasticities. It turns out that the regulatory process does not seem to have significant impact on demand for Telecommunications services for the first period of liberalization. |
| Keywords: | Telecommunications,Demand,Elasticities,Regulatory Process,Panel data |
| JEL: | L51 L1 L94 C2 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse15:127119&r=pay |
| By: | Frías, Zoraida; González-Valderrama, Carlos; Martínez, Jorge Pérez |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a techno-economic analysis to evaluate the feasibility of a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) radio access network to provide fixed wireless 30 Mbps broadband access services in the rural areas of Spain. The results are compared to those of Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) technology and conclude that FTTH networks could reach up to 74% households for 2020 and the proposed LTE network could expand this coverage up to 94.4% households, playing an important role to close the broadband gap with regard to one of the key targets of the Digital Agenda for Europe. |
| Keywords: | Rural broadband,public policies,New Generation Access Networks,Long Term Evolution,techo-economic analysis |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse15:127137&r=pay |
| By: | Bertschek, Irene; Niebel, Thomas |
| Abstract: | Mobile internet access allows for flexibility with respect to working time and working place. We analyse whether employees' use of mobile internet access improves firms' labour productivity. Our data set contains 2143 German firms and refers to the year 2014, when high-speed mobile internet was still at a relatively early stage of diffusion within firms. The econometric analysis shows that firms' labour productivity significantly increases with the share of employees with mobile internet access. Our instrumental variables approach reveals that mobile internet use does cause higher labour productivity. |
| Keywords: | Mobile Internet,Labour Productivity,Firm-Level Data |
| JEL: | D22 L20 O33 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:15090&r=pay |
| By: | Jitsuzumi, Toshiya |
| Abstract: | The Japanese broadband market was very competitive until recently owing to the interconnection rules and the significant market power (SMP) regulations on the incumbent fixed telecom giant, NTT East/West. Japan’s regulator, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), could let the market dynamism deal with the net neutrality issue without introducing any “special” rules. However, technological developments in mobile broadband have turned mobile operators into leading players in the broadband ecosystem, which is making the broadband access market increasingly oligopolistic. The fiber wholesale recently introduced by NTT East/West may accelerate this trend by realizing the virtual integration of NTT Docomo and NTT East/West. Since mobile network operators are less disciplined in Japan’s telecom framework than fixed ones are, the MIC cannot sit back and do nothing. This paper compares two of the tools the MIC may use—increasing competitive pressure in the market and controlling the behavior of dominant mobile operators—and concludes that the latter is more promising. The author recommends that the MIC begin examining the re-regulation of mobile operators and the introduction of new rules for net neutrality. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse15:127152&r=pay |
| By: | Asimakopoulos, Grigorios; Hernández, Virginia; Whalley, Jason |
| Abstract: | Internationalisation plays a key role in the strategy of many firms, with one of the key benefits being improved performance. Since the early 1990s, internationalisation has played a central role within the mobile telecommunications industry, giving rise to multinational enterprises operating in multiple markets. In this paper we investigate whether the internationalisation that has occurred within the European mobile telecommunications industry has resulted in the improved performance of firms. We draw on data for 97 mobile network operators operating in 35 European countries covering the period 2003 to 2012 (inclusive). We adopt a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach to explore the relationship between firm performance and the regulatory development of countries. Our findings reveal that regulatory development does impact on firm performance, as does the extent to which markets are concentrated. We also reveal how regulatory diversity impacts on the performance of firms, and discuss the implications that arise.. |
| Keywords: | internationalisation,mobile telecommunications,Europe,DEA |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse15:127122&r=pay |
| By: | Michele Cincera; Lauriane Dewulf; Antonio Estache |
| Keywords: | mobile; fixed; broadband; substitution; speed; econometrics; europe; deregulation; competition; ict |
| JEL: | D43 L43 L86 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eca:wpaper:2013/205262&r=pay |
| By: | Yuguchi, Kiyotaka |
| Keywords: | Spectrum Policy,5G,Mobile Network Operators,Licensed Shared Access |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse15:127200&r=pay |
| By: | Chua, Hui Na; Chang, Younghoon; Wong, Siew Fan; Tan, Chor Min |
| Abstract: | The telecommunications sector has accessed to large amount of data. When use effectively, this Big Data enables the telcos to achieve efficiency and profitability across the entire telecommunications value chain. However, the potential advantage of Big Data may be tempered by increasing privacy concern among users. Countries across different parts of the world including Malaysia have enacted data protection policy. In Malaysia, the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (PDPA) was officially enforced on November 15th, 2013. To date, its implementation remains challenging and its effect is unclear. This paper attempts to understand the state of data protection policy implementation and its challenges from the viewpoints of three major stakeholders: the users (i.e., the data owners and creators), the telcos (i.e., the data recipients), and the government (i.e., the policy enforcer). Guided by Giddens’ Structuration Theory and the Competing Value Framework, semi-structure interview data will be collected from the three stakeholders to understand how differing perspectives of the stakeholders shape the data protection structure/institution and vice versa. |
| Keywords: | Privacy protection policy,big data analytics,telecommunications sector,fair information practices,privacy concerns |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse15:127131&r=pay |