|
on Payment Systems and Financial Technology |
| By: | Lahiri, Ashok K. (Bandhan Bank) |
| Abstract: | Demonetisation of INR 500 and INR 1,000 notes in India on November 8, 2016 is different from many other countries' scrapping of high value notes in two respects - the withdrawal of their legal tender status and continuation with INR 1,000 and INR 2,000 notes. It has resulted in a cash shortage. Non-cash medium of payments may be encouraged by this shortage, but, with supplies only from the domestic currency presses, the shortage is unlikely to disappear by the end of 2016. Import of currency printed abroad may provide a solution for ending it sooner. The impact of the shortage, if it continues, will be fully felt in the last quarter of 2016-17. Its growth impact in 2016-17 is 0.7-1.3 per cent depending on how much shortage continues and for how long. The big painful jolt of demonetisation creates the right psychological milieu for the war against black money to start. Only Time will tell whether steps such as the Income Declaration Scheme (IDS) in the Budget for 2016-17, the August 2016 amendment of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act of 1988, and the Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) in November 2016, are parts of a concerted plan for tackling black money, and this time is different from 1946 and 1978. With the strides made in digitisation of tax returns and bank records together with PAN, Aadhar and KYC regulations, compared to 6 per cent in 1946 and 11 per cent in 1978, at least 15 per cent or INR 2.2 trillion of the demonetised notes not exchanged into deposits or cash will provide a preliminary positive feedback on the success of the current demonetisation. |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:npf:wpaper:16/184&r=pay |
| By: | Shweta Mehta; Kruti Patel; Krupa Mehta |
| Abstract: | Demonetization means to the suspension of current currency units and reinstate those currency units with new currency units. In this paper researchers aim to study the advantages and disadvantages of demonetization and its impact on Indian banking sector. Despite major developments in paperless currency over the past decade, physical cash remains widely used throughout the world. Therefore one of the main motivating factors for this study is to find out the alternatives of physical cash payments such as online bank transfer, e- clearing, e- KYC, digital locker and Unified Payment Interface. Key words: money, demonetisation, cash, cash crunch, cashless, e-money Policy |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vor:issues:2016-12-14&r=pay |
| By: | Binsfeld, Nico; Whalley, Jason; Pugalis, Lee |
| Abstract: | There is growing awareness amongst policy makers, scholars and practitioners that the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector plays an important role in a country's economy and welfare. The ICT sector relies on highly performing technical infrastructures but also needs skilled people who are able to understand its complexities and are fully capable of making the best use of its potential. In this article we present and discuss this tension for the case of Luxembourg, one of the smallest countries in the world whose economy is open and largely service driven. Although a lot of improvements have been made in recent years regarding its ICT infrastructure, Luxembourg performs poorly in international league tables with regards to e-skills or digital competences showing a tendency to a “second level digital divide” in terms of its ICT professionals. Drawing on a prior study which mapped Luxembourg's ICT ecosystem, we conducted qualitative interviews with human resources managers that allowed us to identify the need for relevant ICT professional skills. By applying an e-competences framework, we have identified six different families of ICT jobs that are most demanded in Luxembourg as well as their underlying competences. We then present several policy initiatives that could address the challenges faced by Luxembourg. By doing so we provide a contribution in order to better understand the issues related to e-skills and digital competences in a small country. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study of this kind looking specifically into the e-skills situation in Luxembourg |
| Keywords: | e-skills,digital divide,competences frameworks,Luxembourg,ICT |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse16:148660&r=pay |
| By: | Ameen, Nisreen; Willis, Robert |
| Abstract: | The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has one of the highest mobile penetration rates in the world. Nevertheless, recent reports on the performance of mobile companies revealed a decline in revenues obtained by the two main mobile operators in UAE (Etisalat and du). Building on the findings of previous studies which investigated the mobile regulatory frameworks in the Arab region in general and the UAE and their effects on consumers' use of mobile phones, the main aim of this research was to investigate the issues and challenges facing the use of mobile phones from the young consumers' perspective. Data were collected from 533 young Arabs aged (18-29) years old in Dubai via multi-stage cluster sampling using questionnaires which were distributed face-to-face and analysed using descriptive statistics. The findings of this research revealed that the participants think that high prices of mobile handsets, high prices of mobile tariffs and high prices of mobile Internet, market monopoly, restrictions on some mobile services, ethical issues and cultural issues are major challenges affecting their use of mobile phones. The research has several implications for policymakers and mobile companies in UAE. |
| Keywords: | Telecommunications in United Arab Emirates,Mobile phone use,Young Arab customers,ICT policies |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse16:148655&r=pay |
| By: | Marcus, J. Scott; Petropoulos, Georgios |
| Abstract: | In its Digital Single Market (DSM) strategy, the European Commission has rightly noted the importance of lowering the price paid for basic cross-border delivery by consumers and by small and medium size retail shippers. Consumers and SMEs may have few alternatives to the National Postal Operators (NPOs), or may be unaware of the options that they have. These concerns led to the Commission to put forward a legislative proposal in May 2016.3 With its legislative proposal, the Commission has sought (1) to strengthen the data gathering powers of Member State postal regulatory authorities, and to oblige them to collect data at both retail and wholesale levels; (2) to increase transparency into pricing for those who use cross-border parcel delivery services; (3) to oblige Member State postal regulatory authorities to assess annually the affordability of these services; and (4) to open cross-border Terminal Dues (TD) and Inward Land Rates (ILR) arrangements to competitors There are parallels that can be drawn between the payment flows for cross-border parcel delivery and those of telecommunications, especially those of international mobile roaming. As with roaming, it is clear that the linkages between wholesale payments between and corresponding retail prices need to be properly understood in order to craft good policy. Another useful lesson is that Member State postal regulatory authorities are unlikely to address cross-border problems not only because of limitations in their respective mandates, but also because they have no incentive to take challenging measures to benefit residents of other countries. There are, however, also important differences between roaming versus parcel delivery. Where high wholesale charges were a major driver of high retail prices for international mobile roaming, the wholesale payments for cross-border parcel delivery appear instead to be below cost. This implies that it is the “spread” between retail price and the wholesale payment that is inflated, at least for small retail shippers and for consumers. Reviewing the Commission's proposed Regulation with all of this in mind, it appears to be on target. The main question that remains open is whether NPOs will be able to adjust TD and ILR rates upward to reflect true costs, as they will be strongly motivated to do; here as well, however, there are grounds for cautious optimism. |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse16:148689&r=pay |
| By: | James Alm (Department of Economics, Tulane University); David M. Bruner (Department of Economics, Appalachian State University); Michael McKee (Department of Economics, Appalachian State University) |
| Abstract: | In many settings the true likelihood of capture when engaging in an illegal activity, such as tax evasion, is not well known to an individual. "Official" statements from the tax administration regarding enforcement effort provide some information. In addition, "informal", or "unofficial", communication among taxpayers can supplement these official announcements, but individuals do not know with certainty whether such unofficial information is honest (or accurate) versus dishonest (or inaccurate). We examine the truthfulness of an individual's revelation of unofficial information to other individuals, along with the factors that affect any revelation, focusing on the intrinsic motivations for revelations. Our experimental design allows us to examine the type and the honesty of messages that an individual chooses to send to other individuals regarding their own audit outcome and their own compliance behavior. Our results indicate that most individuals send accurate messages about their own audit outcomes and their own compliance behaviors. Nevertheless, many individuals are also systematically dishonest about being audited; that is, we observe a significant tendency for individuals to claim that they were audited when they were not. We also observe a strong interaction between individuals' audit outcomes and their compliance behaviors, so that individuals who engaged in tax evasion and who were audited were more truthful in their communications than those whose tax evasion went undetected. |
| Keywords: | Tax compliance, Tax audits, Information, Honesty, Experimental economics. |
| JEL: | H2 H26 C91 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tul:wpaper:1620&r=pay |
| By: | Lichtenstein, Jane |
| Abstract: | Rwanda was a poor, aid dependent subsistence farming economy when it set itself the goal, set out in Vision 2020, of becoming a middle income country by 2020. Agriculture and ICT were both important pillars in the strategy to achieve the goal. This presentation considers the impact of ICT development in Rwanda, in particular the near-universal reach of mobile phone connectivity, on farmers still gaining their livelihood through subsistence farming, often in remote rural areas. Drawing on interviews of policy makers and implementers, awareness of the impact at the centre of strategic planning is considered. There is surprise at the speed of mobile phone usage – and at the rise of money transfers by phone. The regulatory response and promotion of further technological development in the financial sector, so as to improve services in rural areas is also identified. Household survey data show the importance and different status of phones within the household, compared with other assets. They are more often sold under financial pressure, but they are more often subsequently replaced than other assets. Financial initiatives delivered via mobile phone connectivity in poor countries, especially those with difficult agricultural contexts, clearly have high impact potential, and require further study. |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse16:148685&r=pay |
| By: | Sarikakis, Katharine; Rozgonyi, Krisztina |
| Abstract: | Historically, the development of tele-communications has been at the heart of State policy based on a set of principles revolving around notions of modernisation, on the one hand, and nation-building, on the other. They were operationalized in State planning for domestic infrastructure, regulation of market, and communication control. Internationally, telecommunications constituted a core piece in the toolbox of foreign policy and international trade hegemony. The physical scarcity of resources and high costs (i.e. frequencies, cables) and the principles of placing the State at the centre of managing the telecoms and media landscapes have dominated the largest part of communications history. With the successive waves of a. liberalisation and b. technological change, the role of the State has receded and the role of international organisations and private actors has become paramount in setting not only the scene for the technological development in the sector, but importantly, in shaping the principles under which the sector is regulated on a day to day basis. Technological and societal changes shaped the functioning of the telecoms sector, which has become an interconnected ecosystem. Further, regulatory change, in terms of actors, principles and processes is shaping the everyday experience of citizens (or users) around the globe: the role of the global telecommunication industry in social and economic development is underpinned by an unprecedented growth over the past 15 years (ITU International Telecommunications Union, 2015a). This growth is strictly connected to access to spectrum and to the adoption of mobile broadband services (ITU; UNESCO, 2015), (GSMA GSM Association, 2016), one of the most valuable public goods globally (Samuelson, 1954), (Samuelson, 1955), (Holcombe, 1977). The future of communication services lies with the utilization of spectrum bands, and scarcity thereof is a matter of public policy about the utilization of public communicative spaces (Sarikakis, 2012); therefore public accountability (Bovens, Goodin, & Schillemans, 2014) by its ‘users', i.e. telecom operators is a legitimate expectation of global and local publics. An often ignored dimension of principles and practice of public accountability of corporations around transparency and integrity, as the new core actors in the global communications regime. Historic failures and structural weaknesses in emerging, developing and least developed countries on forced implementation of competition policies and introduction of ‘one-size-fits-all' legal and regulatory frameworks have systematically failed to address serious concerns regarding corruption and integrity structures and have paved the way to current corruption incidents worldwide (Chakravartty & Sarikakis, 2006; Sutherland, 2013). The demands of investors of industrialised countries dictated the implementation of historically and politically ungrounded policies and regulations with severe impacts to the accessibility and affordability of telecoms infrastructure in developing countries today, hence widening the digital divide. This paper explores the processes of governing spectrum and connects to accountability mechanisms of European telecom operators as key actors in providing an integrated infrastructure for global sharing of information with a significant impact to the global digital divide. We apply an analysis that takes into account multi-level, multi-actor, multi-purpose factors in the future of information infrastructure – to the increased role of spectrum management, to the effects and impact of globalization of actors and to the role of private sector actors in shaping communication (Sarikakis & Rodriguez-Amat, 2013). The paper surveys the ways in which policies about public accountability and integrity are exercised globally and explores possible connects to the governance of spectrum utilization. We argue that corporate actors bear social and political responsibilities as political actors in the process of governance and discuss the role of European policies in shaping and enforcing those responsibilites. We further elaborate possible regulatory frameworks in the context of social (power) relations (Bovens, Goodin, & Schillemans, 2014) and of empowered inclusion (Warren, 2004) in regards to integrity. We further argue for the need of supra-national regulation at EU-level to secure integrity in spectrum management. We recommend possible and necessary sector-wide initiatives to implement new standards fostering transparency in spectrum licensing, including a minimum set of criteria to be implemented within the licensing process. |
| Keywords: | global communication governance,accountability,integrity,policy principles |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse16:148702&r=pay |
| By: | Berne, Michel; Vialle, Pierre; Whalley, Jason |
| Abstract: | In recent years across Europe, mobile operators have made a number of attempts to consolidate. Consolidation, whether it is successful or not, inevitably focuses on the number of mobile network operators present in a market. Largely overlooked in the discussion of how many mobile network operators should be permitted in a market is the strategy(s) adopted by these operators. An operator may have a disruptive impact on the market, necessitated by its late entrance, that takes the form of price, handset or bundling based competition. In this paper we explore the impact that one such disruptive mobile operator, Free Mobile, has had on the French mobile telecommunications market. Drawing on a wide range of secondary sources, our analysis finds that the growth of Free has come at the expense of the incumbent mobile operators. Its innovative approach to selling its products and providing customer support have been copied by its rivals, as has its low cost strategy. While consolidation has often been rumoured, it has not occurred with the consequence that Bouygues Telecom finds itself in a particularly precarious situation as it is squeezed between larger rivals like Orange and price focused competitors like Free Mobile. |
| Keywords: | competition,mobile telecommunications,Free Mobile,France,entry |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse16:148659&r=pay |
| By: | Oughton, Edward J. |
| Abstract: | There has been a concerted effort in recent years to undertake more strategic, long-term, and cross-sector assessment of national infrastructure. This paper reflects on the assessment of fixed broadband within the recent National Needs Assessment, which aims to identify options for meeting the UK's infrastructure ‘needs' up to 2050. It establishes the future ‘need' for different levels of fixed broadband connectivity and how much investment is required to rollout infrastructure to meet different regional coverage and capacity levels. Two key technologies are initially assessed here using a cost modelling approach, including Fibre-To-The-Premises (FTTP) utilising a Gigabit Passive Optical Network and FTTP utilising a Point-To-Point fibre connection. The results show the aggregate investment required to deliver different levels of fixed broadband access to different proportions of the population. The costs raise linearly for delivery to premises in urban areas, with total urban coverage by FTTP using a Gigabit Passive Optical Network costing £14.1 billion and FTTP using a Point-To-Point network costing £17 billion. The costs for rural and remote areas begin to rise sharply, to the extent that deployment of these technologies to the final third of premises could cost almost the same amount as deployment to the first two thirds of premises in urban areas. Deployment to rural and remote areas was estimated to cost £13.7 billion for FTTP using a Gigabit Passive Optical Network and £15.8 billion for FTTP using a Point-To-Point network. Total FTTP coverage using a Gigabit Passive Optical Network costs £27.7 billion, whereas FTTP coverage using a Point-To-Point network costs £32.8 billion. The largest aggregate investment is required in the South East, North West and East of England, due to their large population sizes. Across these technologies the lowest average marginal cost per premises was in London for urban areas, Scotland for rural areas, and Wales for remote areas. |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse16:148695&r=pay |
| By: | Czajkowski, Mikołaj; Sobolewski, Maciej |
| Abstract: | Recent theoretical models of network competition with call externalities demonstrate strategic incentives of incumbent providers to reduce receiver benefits in rival network by excessive off-net pricing. Such anti-competitive pricing practices have a potentially damaging impact on financial standing of a late entrant, leading to non-convergence of long-run market shares – an outcome that has been observed in many European mobile markets. The theoretical reasoning behind call externalities assumes that receiving calls contribute to consumer utility hence, receiver benefits drive subscription choices. So far no attempts have been made to test this critical assumption in a rigorous manner. We use data elicited from prepaid and postpaid users of mobile telephony in Poland in a discrete choice experiment designed specifically to model subscription choices when operators set termination-based discriminatory tariffs under calling party pays regime. Receiver benefits are controlled with an incoming price – a variable informing about the cost of off-net calls paid by subscribers originating a call from other networks. The model also accounts for switching costs and network effects. We find that call externalities are significant driver of subscription choices, albeit their influence has smaller magnitude than direct price effects. Next, we assess the impact of excessive off-net pricing on the structure of market shares of mobile operators in Poland and estimate customer base stealing effect encountered by the late entrant. Our empirical findings support a widespread view that call externalities might have indeed limited market competition and late entrants' growth in many European countries. |
| Keywords: | Call externalities,personal network effects,switching costs,mobile telephony,stated preference,discrete choice experiment,random parameters logit model |
| JEL: | L1 L86 O3 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse16:148706&r=pay |
| By: | James Alm (Department of Economics, Tulane University); Jay A. Soled (Rutgers Business University) |
| Abstract: | For decades, policy makers and politicians have railed against the "tax gap", or the difference between what taxpayers are legally obligated to pay in taxes and what they actually pay in taxes. To close the gap, Congress has instituted numerous reforms, with varying degrees of success. Notwithstanding these efforts, the tax gap has largely remained intact, and, if anything, its size has gradually grown over the last several decades. However, the tax gap may well begin to diminish in size (or "wither" away), if not immediately then over time. Three developments will help narrow the tax gap's size. First, the ubiquity of credit cards, debit cards, and smartphone payment apps has purged cash - the erstwhile driving engine of the tax gap - from its use in many economic transactions. Second, the availability of third-party sources of information, combined with the universal use of computerization to store, access, and analyze information, has significantly curtailed a taxpayer's ability to hide income here in the United States or overseas. Third, broad economic trends such as concentration and globalization have generated a workforce dynamic in which taxpayers generally are employed by large business enterprises (where individual tax compliance is fairly high) rather than in traditional mom-and-pop businesses (where individual tax compliance is typically low). The implications associated with a lower tax gap are vast. Even beyond the usual considerations associated with greater tax compliance (e.g., increased revenues, reduced noncompliance-induced inefficiencies, and improved horizontal and vertical equity of tax burdens), taxpayers would experience a shift in the labor market and an adjustment in the prices paid for consumer goods and services. Also, rather than conducting audits and deterring noncompliance, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would be able to dedicate a greater share of its limited resources to other pressing agenda items, such as assisting taxpayers in their compliance endeavors. There are, of course, other countervailing economic trends that may subvert the forces that will act to reduce the tax gap, so its future path remains highly uncertain (and hence the alternative use of "whither"). Also, for a whole host of reasons, especially reductions in IRS funding, the tax gap will not be closed anytime soon. Nevertheless, the tide against tax noncompliance may finally be turning. |
| Keywords: | Tax gap, tax compliance. |
| JEL: | H2 H26 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tul:wpaper:1618&r=pay |
| By: | YatinTalati; Atul Bhatt |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper addresses the web-based library services and resources provided through the library website in IITs and NITs and suggest new ways to satisfy young technocrats in the digital era. Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs) are renowned as leading institutes of higher education and research of technology in India. This study attempt to know about web based library resources and services offered by IITs and NITs library through their web sites. The entire study indicates that IITs and NITs are comprise with outstanding web-based resources and services, good number of IITs are having dynamic website in compare to NITs. All the libraries covered in study are having library websites and general library information on their respective library webpage. It is recommended that these libraries need to move to the next stage of hi-tech services i.e. dynamic websites, use social networking and mobile apps to satisfy the young technocrats. Key words:Web-based Resources (WBR), Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), Web-based Services (WBS), Web 2.0, Social Networking, National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Information and communication technologies (ICT) Policy |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vor:issues:2016-12-05&r=pay |
| By: | Petulowa, Marc; Liang, Julienne |
| Abstract: | Mobile-only users are usually considered as a consequence of fixed-mobile substitution. Via a unique dataset based on a a large European country survey and consumers' invoice data, this study reveals heterogeneous preferences for fixed services among consumers. The data is fitted in a mixed logit model and willingness to pay (WTP) for fixed communications services are estimated. Results show that mobile-only consumers have a WTP for fixed services of 15 € per month, while the WTP of users of both fixed and mobile services is thrice higher. Considering that a typical monthly fee for fixed services is around 30 € the heterogeneous preferences for fixed services constitute an alternative explanation for the existence of mobile-only users, despite the complementarity of fixed and mobile broadband. |
| Keywords: | fixed mobile dependence,heterogeneous preferences,substitution versus complementarity,mobile only |
| JEL: | L43 L50 L96 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse16:148699&r=pay |
| By: | Hawthorne, Ryan |
| Abstract: | The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has over the last six years, in line with other regulators in many jurisdictions, reduced call termination rates (the price one operator charges another to complete a call between two networks) by more than 80%. A key question is what impact this has had on retail prices. Theoretical work suggests that reducing call termination rates could result in a ‘waterbed effect', where retail prices for mobile services increase after a call termination rate reduction, since profits from fixed to mobile calls declines and this reduces the profitability of attracting customers, and operators accordingly ‘soften' retail price competition. On the other hand, operators might choose a high mobile to mobile termination rate in order to exclude rivals. The extent of this ‘waterbed effect' therefore depends on the extent to which fixed to mobile calls matter and the extent of market symmetry. South Africa has a relatively small, and declining fixed line network and significant asymmetries between mobile operators (there are two entrants and two incumbents). Measuring retail prices over time in South Africa presents us with an opportunity to test whether, in circumstances where fixed to mobile calls don't matter as much, operators are asymmetric, call termination rates do indeed facilitate entry and cause a reduction in retail prices. A key problem with retail mobile prices in South Africa is that each of the mobile operators offer a wide variety of packages. In order to overcome this challenge, a hedonic regression approach will be used to develop an index of quality adjusted prices, and estimate the impact of call termination rate reductions on quality adjusted prices. The preliminary results of this analysis show that ‘waterbed effects' do indeed exist in respect of postpaid prices in South Africa, and this result is robust to using quality adjusted prices or mean prices. This means that operators would choose low call termination rates in order to soften competition, absent an exclusionary strategy. The choice of high call termination rates by incumbent operators prior to Cell C's entry in 2001, and pressure on resistance to regulatory steps to reduce termination rates when Telkom Mobile entered in 2010, are therefore consistent with an exclusionary strategy on the part of MTN and Vodacom. |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse16:148673&r=pay |
| By: | Gerli, Paolo; Whalley, Jason |
| Abstract: | Across Europe, policymakers and market forces are striving to deploy next generation access (NGA) networks and ensure ubiquitous access to superfast broadband services. Due to scale economies and sunk costs, the roll-out of NGA is expected to be profitable only for large-scale providers and in densely populated areas. This has resulted in an uneven distribution of NGA networks, which is expected to be complemented by public intervention. Nonetheless, alternative providers, such as utilities and local communities, have significantly contributed to NGA diffusion in many countries. Over the past five years, several small-scale initiatives have emerged in the UK, bringing fibre networks to urban and rural areas previously overlooked by either commercial or subsidised deployments. A multiple case study is here employed to investigate the nature and the drivers of niche providers in the UK NGA market. The comparison emphasised similarities and differences across these initiatives, identifying a number of elements recurring in their strategies. This analysis sheds light on the contribution of niche providers to bridging the digital divide in the UK and is meant to provide a preliminary assessment of their sustainability and potential growth. |
| Keywords: | Alternative broadband providers,niche strategies,digital divide |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse16:148671&r=pay |
| By: | Lehr, William; Sicker, Douglas |
| Abstract: | According to Cisco's VNI forecast, "consumer Internet video traffic will be 85 percent of all consumer Internet traffic in 2020, up from 76 percent in 2015," and the majority of this traffic will be entertainment-oriented video. Many might view this as the (near) realization of the promised convergence of digital broadband delivery platforms that has been coming since first generation broadband services started becoming available in the mid-1990s. A question we should ask is whether this is the Internet we want? Even if one concludes that the marriage between entertainment media and the Internet is a foregone conclusion, it is worthwhile to consider what this may mean for the design, regulation, and economics of the Internet. In this paper, we critically examine the proposition that the conventional wisdom that convergence toward “everything over IP,” or even stronger, “everything over the Internet,” is efficient, inevitable, or desirable may be wrong. Convergence means different things in technical, economic, and policy terms. Building a single network that is optimized for 80% entertainment video traffic might disadvantage other services. Moreover, the economics of media entertainment are distinct from, and potentially in conflict with, the economics motivating many of the usage cases most often cited as justification for viewing the Internet as an essential infrastructure. Finally, separately managing the traffic for Internet and video services may be advantageous in addressing regulatory agenda items such as performance measurement, set-top boxes, universal service, OVD reclassification, and Internet interconnection. While most of the traffic may share the same physical (principally, wired) conduit into homes, it may be more efficient and flexible to segregate traffic into multiple logically distinct networks; and doing so may facilitate technical, market, and regulatory management of the shared resources. |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse16:148683&r=pay |
| By: | Deniau, Philippe; Jaunaux, Laure; Lebourges, Marc |
| Abstract: | The European Commission (EC) draft Regulation (2016)2 on wholesale roaming market proposes a massive decrease of the regulated roaming wholesale price caps for data with a drop from €5ct/MB to €0.85 ct/MB to enable the abolition of retail roaming surcharges in Europe by 15 June 2017. However, according to both the “TSM” Regulation text (2015/2120 25th November 2015) itself which imposes the implementation of Roaming Like At Home (RLAH) in Europe and to the decision of the European Court of Justice upholding the first European roaming regulation (ECJ C-58/08 8 June 2010), a wholesale roaming regulation can be justified in parallel of retail regulation only in case of market failure in the wholesale market and in order to prevent the existence of competitive distortions between mobile operators on the internal market. Therefore, wholesale roaming markets regulation should only address identified competitiveness issues. This paper deals with the question of the competitiveness of the wholesale roaming market regarding two angles: the existence of competitive mechanisms and incentives in wholesale roaming markets and the average level of wholesale roaming market prices in comparison with the corresponding level of full production costs. It shows that wholesale roaming markets exhibit competition mechanisms and incentives triggered by roaming volume growth resulting from the perspective of RLAH retail regulation. It also shows that in 2015, the average level of wholesale roaming market prices in Europe is equivalent to the average level of wholesale roaming production costs. Therefore the wholesale roaming market is competitive. Strong regulatory intervention such as large decrease of wholesale roaming caps is neither justified nor proportionate, generates serious risk of distortion of visited markets and jeopardises investments in mobile networks. |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse16:148664&r=pay |
| By: | Stocker, Volker; Smaragdakis, Georgios; Lehr, William; Bauer, Steven |
| Abstract: | Since the commercialization of the Internet, content and related applications, including video streaming, news, advertisements, and social interaction have moved online. It is broadly recognized that the rise of all of these different types of content (static and dynamic, and increasingly multimedia) has been one of the main forces behind the phenomenal growth of the Internet, and its emergence as essential infrastructure for how individuals across the globe gain access to the content sources they want. To accelerate the delivery of diverse content in the Internet and to provide commercial-grade performance for video delivery and the Web, content delivery networks (CDNs) were introduced. This paper describes the current CDN ecosystem and the forces that have driven its evolution. We outline the different CDN architectures and consider their relative strengths and weaknesses. Our analysis highlights the role of location, the growing complexity of the CDN ecosystem, and its relationship to and the implications for interconnection markets. |
| Keywords: | CDN,Interconnection,Peering,QoS,QoE,Pricing,Internet Evolution |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse16:148708&r=pay |
| By: | Nakasone, Eduardo; Torero, Maximo |
| Abstract: | The growing use of ICTs around the world, particularly cellular phone technology, provides a significant development opportunity. Under certain situations, ICTs can improve rural households’ agricultural production, farm profitability, job opportunities, adoption of healthier practices, and risk management. All these effects have the potential to increase wellbeing and food security in rural areas of developing countries. Several challenges to effectively scaling up the use of ICTs for development remain, however. Taking advantage of the opportunities provided by ICTs depends on increased connectivity of marginalized population groups, the content and usefulness of the information provided through ICTs, and the capacity of households in rural areas to understand and act on the information that they receive. We need innovative ways to bring together the public and private sectors to ensure that the three Cs (connectivity, content, and capacity) are addressed as a whole. |
| Keywords: | Information and Communication Technologies; Mobile phones; Agricultural Extension; Market Price Information |
| JEL: | D83 O13 O32 Q18 |
| Date: | 2016–09–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:75854&r=pay |
| By: | Albert, Jose Ramon G.; Serafica, Ramonette B.; Lumbera, Beverly T. |
| Abstract: | In the past one and a half decades, the world has vastly changed economic transactions, data sharing, and the entire general way of life given the dynamic and innovative landscape brought about by information and communications technologies (ICT). This paper first describes the deluge of digital data known as Big Data and its potentials for generating socioeconomic statistics given issues of veracity and privacy. It also gives a brief history of the Internet in the Philippines and discusses the increased Internet access and usage in the country. Other ICT statistics that describe a host of issues regarding the ICT sector, particularly infrastructure and the policy environment, are also examined. Finally, the paper provides some suggestions on how the country can make its digital dividends more inclusive. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, information and communications technology (ICT), Internet, digital dividends, Big Data, social media, veracity, privacy |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2016-16&r=pay |
| By: | Khalily, M. A. Baqui (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | Like in many other countries, inclusive finance for inclusive growth has become a policy issue in Bangladesh following the global financial crisis in 2008. Over the past 10 years, intensity of financial deepening and access to financial services has increased. Both banks and microfinance institutions have contributed to higher intensity. A recent study shows that around 40% of the adult population and 75% of households have access to financial services in Bangladesh. Several factors may have contributed. Proactive regulatory policies and expanded financial literacy are the major determinants. In this paper, regulatory policies have been evaluated and the effect of financial literacy on financial inclusion has been examined empirically. Our analysis suggests that the regulatory agencies in Bangladesh have formulated policies for promoting financial inclusion and creating investment opportunities for micro and small firms in particular. Our empirical evidence, based on household-level data, shows that the intensity of financial literacy in Bangladesh is moderate, and it has a positive impact on inclusive finance. These findings warrant more emphasis on increasing financial literacy for access to finance and informed investment decisions. |
| Keywords: | financial literacy; inclusive finance; regulation; microfinance; Bangladesh; banking |
| JEL: | G21 G28 I22 O16 |
| Date: | 2016–12–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0621&r=pay |
| By: | Jhunjhunwala, Ashok; Kaur, Prabhjot; Ramachandran, Anusha; Mannar, Sai Ram; Ramakrishnan, Mrinalini; Nagarajan, Sree Hari |
| Abstract: | The paper presents how connectivity feature integrated into a roof-top solar power system, Inverterless500, designed and developed to electrify off-grid and near off-grid homes in an energy efficient manner, is critical in optimum service delivery, especially for lower income homes. It makes such products not only suitable for different categories of homes, but also economically viable, offering a promising business solution. Monitoring and manageability are unique features that help in maintaining the solution at remote areas of installation where manual intervention is not routinely feasible. The paper the describes the technology and learnings gained from deployment of these systems that helped in improving the product and overall management process. |
| Keywords: | BLE,cloud,data monitoring portal,Energy efficiency,Inverterless,mobile app,monitoring,power management,Solar-DC |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse16:148679&r=pay |
| By: | Palomo-Navarro, Álvaro; Navío‐Marco, Julio; Martínez-Cespedes, Maria Luisa; Gil, Olga |
| Abstract: | Since its establishment in 2011, the Spanish Network of Smart Cities (RECI) has worked towards the ultimate objective of making Spanish cities an international reference within the global ‘smart' panorama. This network, originally empowered by the individual experience of many Spanish cities with presence in international smart city projects for over 10 years, has adopted a powerful governance structure, including its own particular network coordination and management mechanisms. Overall, this environment can be considered a fast track to learning in matters of smart cities governance and project implementation and a powerful tool for collaborating with the remaining stakeholders. The final objective of this work focuses on providing a full picture of the impact of RECI on the Spanish smart cities and its influence in policy-making and standardization. The conclusions of this study show the important role that RECI has played in the recent development of Spain as an international reference in the field of smart cities. It also shows a positive correlation between RECIs influence on government and normalisation bodies to guarantee the success of RECI´s participant strategies. |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse16:148697&r=pay |
| By: | Shinohara, Sobee; Morikawa, Hiroyuki; Tsuji, Masatsugu |
| Abstract: | Smartphones such as iPhones and Android was introduced to the market around 2007-9 in various OECD member countries. Since then, the transformation of the market was observed, which include (i) rapid growth of mobile broadband (3G+4G); (ii) severer market competition; and (iii) upheaval of market share of mobile carriers. More concretely, 34 OECD countries show the following: (i) the average diffusion rate of mobile broadband in 2008 was about 40%, whereas in 2012 it increased up to 80%; (ii) HHI also reduced in all countries; and (iii) it is common to countries that the carriers which introduced iPhones raised their market shares, whereas those which did not introduce lowered shares. This paper examines the above three transformations in 34 OECD countries by panel data analysis from 2000 to 2012 to identify factors of rapid growth of mobile broadband and market competition. In so doing, the paper estimates the mobile broadband adoption ratio by the following variables: monthly charge of voice services; monthly Data rate; download speed; HHI; GDP per capita; FTTH adoption ratio; the launches of Androids and iPhones; and other policy variables such as Frequency auction and MNP. By using the instrumental variables method, the results obtained are summarized as follows: (1) Price (Voice) is negatively significant; (2) Price (Data)/Speed is not significant; (3) Income is positively significant; (4) HHI is negatively significant; and the followings are positively significant; (5) FTTH adoption ratio; and (6) Launches of smartphones. The results of the analysis also use for discussing the above transformations such as (ii) and (iii). |
| Keywords: | Mobile broadband,Panel data analysis,Smartphone,iPhone,Android,Backhaul |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse16:148704&r=pay |
| By: | Martin Shubik (Cowles Foundation, Yale University) |
| Abstract: | This essay is the third of three. The first is nontechnical and in part autobiograhpical describing the evolution of my approach to developing a microeconomic theory of money and.financial institutions. The second essay was devoted to a more formal sketch of a closed economic exchange system with no other externalities beyond money and markets. This essay builds on the existence of monetary exchange but also context, and active government with nonsymmetric information and many externaties indicate that the views of Keynes, Hayek and Schumpeter are all consistent with the next stages of complexity as the logic requires many different arrays of institutions to provide the necessary economic functions and adjust to the variety of socio-economic contexts. |
| Keywords: | Schumpeter, Keynes, aggregation, information, disequilibrium, minimal institutions, innovation, playable games |
| JEL: | C7 D50 E4 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cwl:cwldpp:2067&r=pay |
| By: | Sigloch, Sebastian; Giovannetti, Emanuele; Fennell, Shailaja |
| Abstract: | This study analyses the emergent network features of the upstream connectivity structure of three mobile broadband providers in the area included between the cities of Kancheepuram and Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India, from an original end-users perspective. This perspective is based on using a large dataset, collected by the authors, in February 2015, generated by the crowdsourcing-based Portolan Network Sensing Application on Android devices. The key feature of these data is that they are user generated and reflect mobility, as they were sourced from smartphones along the route between Chennai and Kancheepuram, rather than being based on stationary operators masts. Internet Service Providers traditionally rely on Border Gateway Protocols (BGP) for interconnecting purposes. Adding an end-user perspective to the existing BGP routing tables reveals a more complete picture of the underlying topology for the studied mobile broadband providers. The data were then used to conduct an Internet Periphery Analysis, pointing towards the roles of existing traffic peering agreements among the Internet Service Providers, and focussing on the role played by International Exchange Points (IXPs) key electronic infrastructures in the region. The analysis identifies the emergence of possible bottlenecks affecting upstream competition and the key role played by IXPs in providing a more widely distributed network access structure. This paper proposes to further study the usage of settlement free peering in fair competition and the preconditions of Quality of Service and service pricing in the Indian Mobile Broadband Market. |
| Keywords: | India,Tamil Nadu,Chennai,Mobile Broadband,Rural Broadband,ICT4D,Internet connectivity,Centrality,Networks,Complexity |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse16:148705&r=pay |
| By: | Melis, Giuseppe; Piga, Claudio A |
| Abstract: | Understanding how tourist firms set their online prices is important due to their growing reliance on Online Travel Agencies (OTA). Little is known, however, about whether differences exist in the online pricing approaches adopted by hotels using an OTA. The article tests, using a big data approach, whether the diffuse narrative of a pervasive presence of dynamic pricing provides a realistic description of hotels’ pricing behavior and thus challenges the view that dynamic pricing should be considered the prevailing norm for the industry. The evidence suggests a heterogenous attitude across hotels, with uniform pricing being more widespread in most hotels of our sample, namely, the 3-star or less, while dynamic pricing is more likely applied in higher quality hotels. |
| Keywords: | Revenue Management; Online travel agents; Heterogeneous strategic management behaviour; dynamic pricing |
| JEL: | L81 L83 |
| Date: | 2016–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:75896&r=pay |
| By: | Houpis, George; Serdarevic, Goran; Vetterle, Jonas |
| Abstract: | Governments around the world recognise widespread broadband access as a facilitator of economic growth. As a result we observe that many countries have introduced National Broadband Policies which set ambitious targets for broadband coverage. Fixed network may not be commercially viable in more remote rural areas because the cost of roll out is too high. Therefore mobile networks are likely to play an important role in achieving these national targets. In particular, for rural and remote areas of a country where fixed networks are not viable, mobile will likely be the primary form of broadband access. Whilst Governments are interested in maintaining competitive markets there may be some rural areas of a country that are so uneconomic that even mobile network competition may not achieve coverage, either within the required timeframe or at all. It may, however, be desirable for such areas to be covered because of the wider economic benefits of widespread broadband availability. This paper presents and evaluates different forms of supply-side intervention that can be used to achieve mobile broadband coverage in rural areas. |
| Keywords: | Competition Policy,Network Economics,Telecommunications Policy,Economics of Regulation |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse16:148674&r=pay |
| By: | Serrano Calle, Silvia; Pérez Martínez, Jorge; Frías Barroso, Zoraida |
| Abstract: | The paper focuses on the first public programs in Spain to support the introduction of cloud computing services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro-SMEs, and facilitating the digital transformation of SMEs, stimulating e-commerce and encouraging competitiveness. The paper analyses how the programs that the Spanish Government launched in 2015 transcend technology and impact over the digital ecosystem, with influences over supply and demand. The paper identifies the main drivers of SMEs providing cloud services and ICT solutions and other key elements that help to understand the eligible portfolio of cloud solutions and authorised providers that will contribute to the digital transformation of Spanish SMEs and micro-SMEs. |
| Keywords: | Digital Economy,Cloud Computing,SME,Public Policy |
| JEL: | H76 L88 O14 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse16:148703&r=pay |