New technologies and productivity growth in the euro area

This paper provides an overview of the currently available evidence on the importance of information and communication technologies (ICT) for developments in productivity growth in the euro area. On the basis of the available data, there is evidence of an increased contribution of ICT to economic growth both in terms of production and investment in the second half of the 1990s. However, there is little, if any, evidence of significant positive spillover effects from the use of ICT to overall productivity growth. This implies that there is no reason to believe that potential output growth in the euro area has increased significantly in recent years on account of new technologies JEL Classification: E22, L63, L86, O3, O47average labour productivity, capital stock, euro area, growth accounting, Information and communication technologies, measurement issues, sectoral developments

FDI and ICT effects on productivity growth in Middle East countries

Economic growth theories predict that economic growth is driven by investments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).  In this paper we studied the effects stemming from Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) on productivity growth. The analysis is based on panel data covering Middle East countries during the period 1990–2010. The growth accounting results indicate that the growth contribution of ICT and FDI was quite low this countries. The econometric results showed a positive and significant impact of ICT and FDI in these countries. Keywords: FDI, ICT, growth, productivity, economic development

ICT Externalities: Evidence from cross country data

This paper reports the findings of an empirical study on the external effects of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) on economic growth and productivity at an aggregate level. It focuses on possible network effects and spillovers emerging as externalities from investments in ICT. The existence of externalities is well described in theoretical work however empirical evidence is scarce. By using time series at the macro level for a panel of 15 countries I find positive externalities for investments in IT software and in telecommunication equipment, but not for IT hardware. The analysis, which accounts for cyclical effects and also takes external effects from non-ICT factors into account, points at considerable lags between the time of investing in these technologies and the time at which the externalities arise. Taking these externality effects into account, the paper shows that the impact of ICT on productivity is almost twice as high as compared to a model that does not include such effects.Productivity, Network Effects, Spillovers, Information and Communication Technologies, Total Factor Productivity

UNDERSTANDING THE DETERMINANTS OF ICTS DIFFUSSION IN ECOWAS

The Information and Communication technology(ICT) environment in the economic community of west african states(ECOWAS) has changed sufficiently to warrant re-conceptualization of the earlier initiatives. Notably, many new technologies have emerged, especially in the area of wireless communications. Thus, ECOWAS ability to participate in and enhance its international competitiveness in the new global economy and hence make progress in poverty reduction depends in large part on its ability to use and adapt new information and technological innovations. This project therefore, sets out to enhance understanding and knowledge of the innovative effects of ICT poverty reduction and human development; and to improve ECOWAS capacities to formulate and implement national ICT policies that promote equitable access to ICT and information for socio-economic development.Technological progress, growth, productivity, diffusion, ICTS, AFRICAN ECONOMIES, DYNAMIC PANEL DATA

Gender equality and economic development : the role for information and communication technologies

The author focuses on the role that information and communication technologies (ICTs) can play in improving gender equality, so as to enhance long-term economic growth. Employing OLS and IV panel regressions with country fixed-effects, he shows that increases in the level of ICT infrastructure tend to improve gender equality in education and employment. In addition, the author shows that education among the general population is important for improving gender equality. The results provide evidence indicating that gender equality in education is an important contributor to gender equality in employment. Lastly, the results show that economic development tends to lead to some improvements in gender equality in the labor market. Hence, the use of ICTs to improve gender equality in education and employment may initiate a continuous cycle of positive reinforcing feedback effects between gender equality in employment and economic development, leading to further improvements in both.Housing&Human Habitats,Gender and Development,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Public Health Promotion,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Housing&Human Habitats,Gender and Education,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Legal Products

Proceedings of the Conference on Human and Economic Resources

Most developing nations have embarked on various reforms that foster the use of ICTs in their economies. These reforms tend to yield little or minimal benefits to economic growth and development, especially when compared with the developed countries of the world. Technological advancement is known to impact fast rate of economic development. In Nigeria, policy on adoption of Information and Communication Technologies was initiated in 1999, when the civilian regime came into power of government. The operations of the licensed telecommunication service providers in the country has created some well-felt macroeconomic effects in terms of job creation, faster delivery services, reduced transport costs, greater security and higher national output. This study intends to investigate the emerging roles of ICTs on Nigerian economy, and to evaluate the factors that influence the decisions of investors in the Nigerian telecommunications sector. Ordinary Least Square Method of Regression for the period 1999 – 2004, shall be employed. This period is considered appropriate in that, it was the time that policy on ICTs was adopted. The paucity of data prior to this time also poses restriction on meaningful econometric analysis. Significant and positive relationship between ICTs and economic growth is expected as it is portrayed in some economic literature. While telecommunication service providers receive commensurate profit on their investment efforts, the regulation from the government should ensure competitiveness. This strategy will increase the quality of the services offered, and possibly at cheaper price.developing countries, Nigerian economy, information technology, communication technology

The role of information and communication technology in encountering environmental degradation: Proposing an SDG framework for the BRICS countries

Sustainability through information and communication technologies is a complex matter, raising interesting debate among researchers. Pursuing the same, this research investigates the impact of information and communication technologies, economic growth, and financial development on carbon dioxide emissions by simultaneously testing the Environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in BRICS countries. In doing so, this study employs Methods of Moments - Quantile Regression, which confirms that the effects of the explanatory variables vary across different quantiles of carbon dioxide emissions. The overall results indicate that economic growth and financial development contribute to carbon dioxide emissions across all quantiles, while information and communication technologies significantly mitigate the level of carbon dioxide emissions only at lower emissions quantiles. Moreover, the results confirm the presence of the EKC hypothesis. Interestingly, the effect of economic growth and information and communication technologies on carbon dioxide emissions is lowest in magnitude at lower quantiles and highest at higher quantiles of carbon dioxide emissions. The empirical findings of DH panel heterogenous causality test confirm bidirectional causality between the model parameters, indicating that any policy intervention concerning explanatory variables significantly causes carbon dioxide emissions and vice versa. The results set out the foundation for policymakers to devise a policy framework to attain the objectives of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The Effects of Human Capital on Output Growth in ICT Industries: Evidence from OECD Countries

Information and communication technologies (ICT) play a central role in the transition to knowledge - based economies. In this paper we analyse the effects of human capital in fostering output growth in ICT manufacturing and services using data from a sample of twenty OECD countries over the period 1980-2002. We focus on within country between industry differences and estimate a system of simultaneous equations to account for simultaneous effects of human capital on physical investment and output growth. The results of our econometric analysis suggest that countries with a high human capital stock experienced faster output growth in ICT producing manufacturing and ICT using services. Also, in countries with high human capital improvement over the analysed period output grew relatively faster in ICT producing manufacturing industries. Furthermore, we find that past country level educational attainment reflected in the human capital stock and human capital accumulation over the analysed period had a direct positive and significant effect on physical capital investment. Our findings indicate that in developed countries human capital is an important factor driving the ICT industries growth.DYNREG, Human capital, ICT industries, Economic growth

The Impact of Broadband Networks on Growth and Development in South America

Broadband networks can play a special role as "general purpose technologies" that enable or facilitate the use of other Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), including a plethora of internet-based services, such as e-commerce, e-government, e-learning or social media. Due to the better quality and availability of statistical data, most empirical studies on the economic effects of broadband have focused on their impact on growth, employment and productivity in developed countries. In this study, we set out the reasons why these economic effects should also be relevant for developing countries and examine the potential advantages of increasing broadband take-up. To analyze the significance of broadband for economic development, we specify and estimate an econometric model for nine South American countries, for which relatively high quality data was available. According to our results, increased broadband penetration is associated with significant "spillover" effects, excess societal returns over and above the expected returns of other investments in physical capital

The impact of ICT capital accumulation - A complete macroeconomic framework

The paper aims at assessing the net impact of the accumulation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) capital on the economy. In a first part, focusing on the supply-side of the economy, we show that the growth accounting methodology cannot provide us with a measure of the net economic impact of ICT capital accumulation, since it does not take into account substitution between production factors. We develop a theoretical framework relying on the profit optimizing behaviour of firms that enables us to quantify the missing terms. Applying to French data over the period 1995-2000, with reasonable assumptions on elasticities of substitution, we find that the net impact of ICT capital accumulation on labour productivity growth is half the one computed by growth accounting studies. In a second part, we use this long-term framework in a macroeconometric model. We find that long-term effects have a small magnitude, and the demand effects are the larger ones over the period 1995-2000. However, total impact is rather weak, less than 0.1 percentage of PIB per year.growth accounting, aggregate productivity, elasticity of substitution, information and communication technologies, macroeconometric models