The diffusion of broadband telecommunications: the role of competition

This paper addresses the determinants of diffusion of broadband infrastructure by looking at the U.S. Federal States. It tries to identify in particular to what extent intra- and inter -platform competition contribute to accelerating the speed of diffusion. Panel data analysis results indicate that both types of competition significantly affect the rate of diffusion, although with different effect. Intra-platform competition seems to have a positive impact only initially on the rate of diffusion but then dissipates. For the longer term, inter -platform has a much more important role in driving the rate of diffusion. The study takes account of the impact of other variables measuring competition in the telecommunications sector as well.Broadband; Technological diffusion; Regulation and competition

New evidence on the relationship beetween crude oil and petroleum product prices

The present study aims at providing new evidence on the price re- lationships between crude oil and petroleum products. We employ single-equation error correction models (ECM) in which both changes in crude oil price and deviations from the long-run equilibrium are used to explain product price dynamics. A GARCH structure is applied to models' residuals to account for the time-varying volatility. Our key piece of innovation is the introduction of re¯ning margin e®ects to the analysis of the asymmetric products price movements. Results suggest that the overall balance in the re¯nery sector plays an important part in the adjustment to crude price shocks.Oil prices; Market integration; Cointegration; Error correction models;

Technology Adoption and Innovation in Public Services.The Case of E-Government in Italy

Using data on 1,176 Italian municipalities in 2005, this paper discusses a number of factors associated with the development of a particular type of innovative activities, namely e-government services supplied by local public administrations (PAs). We find that municipalities which got involved into e-government are larger, carry out more in-house ICT activities and are more likely to have intra-net infrastructures, relative to PAs that do not offer front office digitalised services. They are also generally located in regions with relatively large shares of firms using or producing ICT, where many other municipalities offer digitalised services, and where concentration of inhabitants in metropolitan areas is not very high. The range and quality of e-government services supplied by local PAs tend to increase with their stock of ICT competencies, with their efforts to train workers, and with their ability to organise efficient interfaces with end-users. Moreover, there is a correlation between the range and quality of e-government services offered and the broadband infrastructure development of the geographic area in which local PAs are located. In more general terms, we show that the combination of internal competencies and context specific factors is different when explaining the decision to start e-government activities vs. the intensity of such activities. Regional factors, relating to both demand and supply of services, appear to affect only the decision to enter e-government activities. Competencies needed to expand and improve the quality of services are much more numerous and complex than the ones associated with the mere decision to start e-government activities.Innovation system, Dynamic capabilities, Technology adoption, Electronic government, Innovation in services, Two-part model.

The global innovation scoreboard 2008: the dynamics of the innovative performances of countries. Measuring innovation thematic paper

The Thematic Paper is divided into two main parts. The first, methodological in nature, is an attempt to carry out a comparison between nine different exercise of measuring technological capabilities at country level using composite indicators. The second develops the new Global Innovation Scoreboard with a revised methodology aiming at providing an overview on the main trends, results and determinants of the innovative performance of countries across the world

The Technological Capabilities of Nations: A Survey of Composite Indicators

Composite synthetic indicators of the technological capabilities of nations have been used ever more frequently over the last few years, creating a sort of Olympic Games medal table of the innovation race. Such measurement tools have been formulated at the macroeconomic level by the European Commission, specialised 98 United Nations Agencies, the World Bank, the World Economic Forum and individual scholars. All these indicators are based on a variety of statistical sources in order to capture the multidimensional nature of technological change. This article reviews these various exercises , in particular) casts light on the explicit and implicit assumptions on the nature of technological change; ii) discusses their pros and cons; iii) examines the soundness of the results achieved. Finally, the relevance of synthetic indicators of technological capabilities for policy makers, company strategies and economic studies is discussed.Technological Capabilities, Composite Indicators, Innovation Measurement, Cross-Country Comparisons

The role of technology, organization and contextual factors inthe development of e-Government services: An empiricalanalysis on Italian Local Public Administrations

Using data drawn from the 2007 and 2009 Istat ICT-PA surveys on 4471 Italian munic-ipalities, we identify the technological, organizational, and contextual factors associatedwith the development of e-Government services in local administrations. We find thatboth outsourcing and internal accumulation of ICT competencies are strongly correlatedto the provision of these services. Moreover we observe that in-house ICT activities havetwice as high an impact on e-Government development as compared to ICT outsourcing.The enactment of advanced e-services is less likely in the case of small municipalities, insparsely populated areas, and in the presence of higher rates of growth of the elder com-ponent of population. By contrast it is more likely in areas characterized by more intensepatenting activities, which in turn favour a dynamic and sophisticated demand for newservices. Though broadly consistent with Fountain’s “technology enactment framework”,our findings suggest that more emphasis should be given to the internal competencies ofpublic administrations, and to context specific factors reflecting the characteristics of endusers

Technology adoption and innovation in public services the case of e-government in Italy

Using data from 1176 Italian municipalities in 2005, we identify factors associated with the development of e-government services supplied by local public administrations (PAs). We show that the combination of internal competencies and context-specific factors is different when explaining decisions to start e-government activities vs. the intensity of such activities. Municipalities involved in e-government are larger, carry out more in-house ICT activities and are more likely to have intranet infrastructures than PAs that do not offer front-office digitized services. They are also generally located in regions having relatively large shares of firms using or producing ICTs, where many other municipalities offer digitized services, and where population density is relatively low. The range and quality of e-government services supplied by local PAs tend to increase with their stock of ICT competencies, their efforts to train workers, and with their ability to organise efficient interfaces with end-users. Moreover, there is a correlation between the range and quality of e-government services offered and the broadband infrastructure development in the area where local PAs are located.Innovation system Dynamic capabilities Technology adoption Electronic government Innovation in services Two-part model

Evaluations micro et macroéconomiques des allègements de la (para)fiscalité en Belgique

Le chômage des jeunes est un problème préoccupant pour notre pays, tant au sud qu’au nord. Il touchait en 2003 21,5% des 15-24 ans (15,5% pour la moyenne UE-15) pour un taux de chômage de 8,1% tous âges confondus (définition OCDE du chômage). En 2003, dans les trois régions du pays, le taux de chômage relatif des personnes diplomées de l’enseignement primaire ou secondaire inférieur est entre deux et quatre fois plus important que celui des personnes titulaires d’un diplôme post-secondaire. Cette position relative défavorable des peu qualifiés est déjà ancienne. Les Gouvernements successifs ont depuis des années favorisé la (ré)insertion de personnes inoccupées sur le marché du travail par des allégements de charges sociales. La seule observation du nombre de travailleurs qui ouvrent le droit à ces allégements et du montant octroyé des diminutions de cotisations ne suffit pas pour préjuger de l’impact de ces politiques. Elle doit être complétée par des recherches notamment de nature économique. Dans ce contexte, la Politique scientifique fédérale a confié à l'Institut de Recherches économiques et sociales (IRES, UCL) une étude relative à l'évaluation d’un certain nombre d’allègements de la (para)-fiscalité en Belgique. Cette étude s’inscrit dans le cadre du programme de recherches "Cohésion sociale" (2001-2005). Sous l’angle microéconomique, il s’agit d’évaluer les modalités d’allégement du point de vue de l’insertion pour un jeune demandeur d’emploi de longue durée sans expérience de travail (sortie du chômage vers l’emploi, durée de celui-ci). Sous l’angle macroéconomique, l’objectif est d’évaluer les allégements sous l’angle des effets sur les choix technologiques et les processus de création/destruction d’emplois tenant compte de la négociation salariale, des qualifications diverses des travailleurs et de l’existence d’autres politiques (assurance-chômage, politiques actives)