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on Payment Systems and Financial Technology |
| By: | Warren E. Weber |
| Abstract: | This paper imagines a world in which countries are on the Bitcoin standard, a monetary system in which all media of exchange are Bitcoin or are backed by it. The paper explores the similarities and differences between the Bitcoin standard and the gold standard and describes the media of exchange that would exist under the Bitcoin standard. Because the Bitcoin standard would closely resemble the gold standard, the paper explores the lessons about how it would perform by examining the classical gold standard period, specifically 1880–1913. The paper argues that because there would be virtually no arbitrage costs for international transactions, countries could not follow independent interest rate policies under the Bitcoin standard. However, central banks would still have some limited ability to act as lenders of last resort. Based on the experience during the classical gold standard period, the paper conjectures that there would be mild deflation and constant exchange rates under the Bitcoin standard. The paper also conjectures how long the Bitcoin standard might last if it were to come into existence. |
| Keywords: | E-Money, Exchange rates, Financial services, Inflation and prices |
| JEL: | E E4 E41 E42 E5 E58 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bca:bocawp:16-14&r=pay |
| By: | Marco Manacorda (Queen Mary University of London, CEP (LSE), CEPR & IZA); Andrea Tesei (Queen Mary University of London & CEP (LSE);) |
| Abstract: | Can digital information and communication technology (ICT) foster mass political mobilization? We use a novel geo-referenced dataset for the entire African continent between 1998 and 2012 on the coverage of mobile phone signal together with geo-referenced data from multiple sources on the occurrence of protests and on individual participation in protests to bring this argument to empirical scrutiny. We find that mobile phones are instrumental to mass mobilization during economic downturns, when reasons for grievance emerge and the cost of participation falls. Estimated effects are if anything larger once we use an instrumental variable approach that relies on differential trends in coverage across areas with different incidence of lightning strikes. The results are in line with insights from a network model with imperfect information and strategic complementarities in protest provision. Mobile phones make individuals more responsive to both changes in economic conditions - a mechanism that we ascribe to enhanced information - and to their neighbors' participation - a mechanism that we ascribe to enhanced coordination. Empirically both effects are at play, highlighting the channels through which digital ICT can alleviate the collective action problem. |
| Keywords: | Mobile phones, Collective action, Africa, Geo-referenced data |
| JEL: | D70 O55 L96 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qmw:qmwecw:wp785&r=pay |
| By: | Judd Cramer; Alan B. Krueger |
| Abstract: | In most cities, the taxi industry is highly regulated and utilizes technology developed in the 1940s. Ride sharing services such as Uber and Lyft, which use modern internet-based mobile technology to connect passengers and drivers, have begun to compete with traditional taxis. This paper examines the efficiency of ride sharing services vis-à-vis taxis by comparing the capacity utilization rate of UberX drivers with that of traditional taxi drivers in five cities. The capacity utilization rate is measured by the fraction of time a driver has a fare-paying passenger in the car while he or she is working, and by the share of total miles that drivers log in which a passenger is in their car. The main conclusion is that, in most cities with data available, UberX drivers spend a significantly higher fraction of their time, and drive a substantially higher share of miles, with a passenger in their car than do taxi drivers. Four factors likely contribute to the higher capacity utilization rate of UberX drivers: 1) Uber’s more efficient driver-passenger matching technology; 2)the larger scale of Uber than taxi companies; 3) inefficient taxi regulations; and 4) Uber’s flexible labor supply model and surge pricing more closely match supply with demand throughout the day. |
| JEL: | D24 J01 J42 J44 O3 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22083&r=pay |
| By: | Winnie Mwasiaji (IPC-IG) |
| Abstract: | "The Government of Kenya is currently implementing four social cash transfer programmes covering approximately 600,000 beneficiary households across the nation. One of the most critical challenges facing Kenya today is the implementation of an effective, efficient and robust payment mechanism that ensures payments are delivered to the beneficiaries in a timely, convenient, reliable and secure way."(?) |
| Keywords: | strengthening, cash transfer, payment systems, Kenya |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipc:opager:315&r=pay |
| By: | Rúben Meireles (Faculty of Economics, University of Porto); Pedro Campos (Faculty of Economics, University of Porto and LIAAD INESC TEC) |
| Abstract: | Faster internet connections are breaking most of the geographic barriers. At the same time, the huge digital content that have been generated in last years is motivating new forms of digital piracy. We know that piracy of copyrighted digital material has a huge impact on countries’ economy, being a major issue for the whole society and not only for content creators. The purpose of this paper is to investigate digital piracy intention. For that purpose, we have expanded the framework of the theory of planned behavior using the utility theory, the deterrence theory and other relevant constructs. Using data from students of a Portuguese university and high school, a sample of 590 questionnaires has been collected. Two models were developed and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The first considers the full sample (Full Model), while the second considers only those who had pirated (Pirate Model). The pirate model confirmed the existence of a significant and strong relation between past behavior and intention towards digital piracy. |
| Keywords: | Information and Internet Services; Computer Software, Digital Piracy, Theory of Planned Behavior, Deterrence Theory, Structural Equation Modeling |
| JEL: | L86 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:por:fepwps:573&r=pay |
| By: | Goeldner, Moritz; Herstatt, Cornelius |
| Abstract: | Prior research has shown that users are a valuable resource for identifying new product or service innovations. However, few scholars have analyzed how different user types such as intermediate and end users are interacting along the value chain of an emerging new product and how they contribute to innovation. Further, user innovation success in the market is often unclear, since very few innovations diffuse directly to customers from the user innovators. We analyze different innovative contributions of intermediate and end users that have been sold and evaluated within the healthcare sector. Several studies in the healthcare sector have shown that healthcare professionals are an important source of innovation. Yet, to date, companies and scholars have paid little attention to the end users of medical devices: patients. We focus on the innovative behavior of patients and their relatives, their motivations, and their contributions to improving the quality of their own and ultimately of other patients' therapy. We analyze innovations of producers, healthcare professionals, patients, and relatives in the German, UK, and U.S. markets for medical smartphone apps (Apple App Store) and conduct 16 semi-structured interviews. Our findings show that users develop around 46% of all medical smartphone applications (apps). We analyzed 510,229 user ratings and found that apps designed by patients, relatives, and healthcare professionals are rated significantly better by App Store customers than apps created by professional software companies. Apps developed by patients' relatives achieve significantly more downloads and generate on average three times higher revenues per year. The initial medical smartphone app developments in the early days of the Apple App Store were mainly triggered by healthcare professionals. The interview data shows the extensive medical knowledge of patients and their relatives, particularly those with chronic diseases. The overall findings are in line with a current literature stream that indicates that patients are gaining more influence on their treatment, are better informed, and are taking more actions to increase their quality of life. Commercial healthcare companies should take advantage of this and should consider including patients and relatives into their product development. |
| Keywords: | user innovation,patient,relative,healthcare professional,m-health,medical,smartphone applications,app,apps |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:tuhtim:91&r=pay |
| By: | Saqib, Zulkaif Ahmed; Rabnawaz, Ambar; Saqib, Khubaib Ahmad; Salma, Umme; Ahmed, Wasim; Hussain, Safdar; Jafar, Rana Muhammad Sohail; Zulqarnain, Muhammad |
| Abstract: | The present plans to comprehension methods of web shopping conduct among young adults can empower online sellers to outline more powerful and effective advertising procedures. The target of present research is to quantify the consumer conduct in the web-shopping of general items in Pakistan. The research investigates the relationship between shopping tendency (entertainment inclination, experiential incline, quality orientation as well as convenience) and internet shopping conduct of consumers as far as recurrence and experience in light of the fact that the principle question in our research is the manner by which consumer acts during web shopping. Primary data were gathered through questionnaire survey from 252 students of the university and affiliated colleges. The relationship between shopping trends and recurrence of internet purchasing uncovers that trial online customers are more stimulation situated than their regular partners. The study is geographically constrained in light of the fact that information was gathered from different graduates and postgraduates students of University of Sargodha and affiliated colleges in Sargodha only. |
| Keywords: | Shopping orientation, consumer behavior, students, demographics, online shopping |
| JEL: | D1 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:70384&r=pay |
| By: | Ellen J. Helsper; Bianca C. Reisdorf |
| Keywords: | Digital divide; digital inclusion; Great Britain; Internet non-use; longitudinal research; motivation; social inequality; survey; Sweden |
| JEL: | L91 L96 |
| Date: | 2016–04–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:65804&r=pay |
| By: | Bertrand Mocquet (Université Bordeaux Montaigne) |
| Abstract: | Alors que Twitter s'apprête à fêter ses dix ans d'existence, le 21 mars 2016, cet étude sur l'usage du micro-blogging dans l'enseignement supérieur et la recherche, propose d'analyser les usages en terme de consommation de ce réseau socionumérique, puis dans le cadre de création dans son mode de fonctionnement professionnel (recherche, pédagogie, vie du service). |
| Keywords: | gouvernance,université,réseaux socionumériques,usage du numérique |
| Date: | 2016–03–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01291710&r=pay |
| By: | LYUBAREVA, Inna; ROCHELANDET, Fabrice; ETIENNE, Jean-Michel |
| Abstract: | A body of literature shows the destabilizing role of ICT and change from analogue to digital in the cultural industries in general, and in press industry in particular. This literature demonstrates that constant experimentation and innovation in the area of organizational arrangements and business models (BM) has become a key competitive advantage. As a result, traditional BMs, which were dominant and stable in different cultural industries (such as media, film, music, publishing etc), have given rise to a multiplicity of arrangements in business management and the emergence of disruptive and innovative business models, which often successfully coexist in the same market segment. According to this view point, strategic and structural change is necessarily driven by competition or the need for efficiency. However alternative theories predicts that in depending on the industry structural characteristic, only early adopters of innovation may be driven by a desire to improve performance, whereas as an innovation spreads and organizational field becomes more established, there may be a push towards homogenization. The case of the French press is quite symptomatic of that standpoint. From the empirical analysis of 100 press websites observed over the period from 2004 to 2014, the paper substantiates the convergence process towards three dominant clusters of online BMs: “A minima Digital”, “Freebie Plus” and “Exploring Leaders”. Using a Random Effects Probit econometric model the paper puts forward that this isomorphic process is mainly due to the fact that mimetic behavior over-weights search for performance in French press. |
| Keywords: | Online Press, Business Models, Innovation of Service, Imitation, Isomorphism |
| JEL: | L82 M2 O33 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:70084&r=pay |
| By: | Stahl, Florian; Schomm, Fabian; Vomfell, Lara; Vossen, Gottfried |
| Abstract: | The newly emerging market for data is insufficiently researched up to now. The survey presented in this work - which is the third iteration of a a series of studies that started in 2012 - intends to provide a deeper understanding of this emerging type of market. Research questions concerning the provider manifestations and the commoditization of data are identified. The findings indicate that data providers focus on limited business models and that data remains individualized and differentiated. Nevertheless, a trend towards commoditization for certain types of data can be foreseen, which even allows an outlook to further developments in this area. |
| Keywords: | Cloud Computing,Data as a Service,Data Marketplace,Data Marketplace Survey,Data Marketplace Development |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ercisw:24&r=pay |
| By: | Richard L. Nolan (Harvard Business School) |
| Abstract: | Homo sapiens has mastered its environment so thoroughly that, for the first time in history, a small minority of the population is capable of creating enough food and fuels to support not only itself, but a growing majority of the 6 billion people now living on earth. This unparalleled abundance is allowing our species to develop, distribute, and profit from innovation in nearly every corner of civilization. Now key elements of the modern world such as the speed and connectedness of digital communication, the dynamic movement of capital, and changing nature of political boundaries are propelling capitalism into a new form that can be characterized as "virtual capitalism." And global corporations in their size and global influence are leading the embodiment of virtual capitalism into the modern world. |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hbs:wpaper:16-116&r=pay |