How does the design of international environmental agreements affect investment in environmentally friendly technologies ?

This paper studies the link between the design of international environmental agreements and the incentives for the private sector to invest in cleaner technologies. More specifically, it compares the performance, in the Paretoo sense, of two types of agreement : an agreement on a uniform standard with transfers and an agreement on differentiated standards without transfers. To achieve this goal, we use a multi-stage game where the private sector anticipates its irreversible investment given the expected level of abatement standards, resulting from future bilateral negotiations. Our findings indicate that whenever countries are able to partially commit, the agreement on a uniform standard may be preferable, as it creates greater incentives for firms to invest in costly abatement technology. This result relies on the low level of the set-up cost of this technology. If this level is sufficiently high, the announcement and implementation of the agreement on a uniform standard with transfers is not optimal, because it takes away the incentive of all firms to invest in a new abatement technology.agreements, standards, transfers, technology adoption, irreversible investment, bargaining, transboundary pollution.

Development of Nano-economy as a Factor of Forming the Effective National Innovation System of Singapore

The article reveals the theoretical and methodological interpretation of the innovation system, when it determined the structure of the national innovation system. It is noted that the components of the national innovation system are elements, stages and subjects. The main elements are the scientific, technical, production and management. Scientific and technical organization responsible for basic research, applied research implementation and technology transfer from research institutions to production entities. The industrial element is characterized by the implementation of technology in the industry. Management invention provides an element of organizational know-how that would receive revenue from the introduction of the newest technological solutions. Such an approach to the definition of innovation system author used in the analysis of such a system in Singapore. Common indicators confirmed the level of scientific, manufacturing and managerial innovation system segments of Singapore. In statistics of the country, these data are: higher education sector (Science and Technology segment), private sector (commercial segment) and the government sector (management segment). The study concluded that the human factor in a country like Singapore, is the basis of scientific, technical, production and management changes in the development of the national innovation system

ICT Production and Productivity in Sweden and Finland, 1975-2004

This article compares the development of labour productivity in the Swedish and the Finnish business sectors and the role of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector in this process. The results show that the Finnish productivity level has been converging towards the Swedish level, but that there is still a significant difference. This trend has coincided with the growing importance of the ICT sector, especially since the mid 1990s. Due to higher productivity and employment growth, the Finnish ICT sector has contributed to this convergence. This is explained by the electrical engineering industry. The Nokia effect has been stronger than the Ericsson effect.Productivity, Convergence, Finland, Sweden, ICT production

Taking time to understand: articulating relationships between technologies and organizations

Dynamic relationships between technologies and organizations are investigated through research on digital visualization technologies and their use in the construction sector. Theoretical work highlights mutual adaptation between technologies and organizations but does not explain instances of sustained, sudden, or increasing maladaptation. By focusing on the technological field, I draw attention to hierarchical structuring around inter-dependent levels of technology; technological priorities of diverse groups; power asymmetries and disjunctures between contexts of development and use. For complex technologies, such as digital technologies, I argue these field-level features explain why organizations peripheral to the field may experience difficulty using emerging technology

On Improving Automation by Integrating RFID in the Traceability Management of the Agri-Food Sector

Traceability is a key factor for the agri-food sector. RFID technology, widely adopted for supply chain management, can be used effectively for the traceability management. In this paper, a framework for the evaluation of a traceability system for the agri-food industry is presented and the automation level in an RFID-based traceability system is analyzed and compared with respect to traditional ones. Internal and external traceability are both considered and formalized, in order to classify different environments, according to their automation level. Traceability systems used in a sample sector are experimentally analyzed, showing that by using RFID technology, agri-food enterprises increase their automation level and also their efficiency, in a sustainable wa

Innovative framework for e-government adoption in Saudi Arabia: a study from the business sector perspective

E-Government increases transparency and im- proves communication between the government and the users. Providing e-Government services to business sector is a fun- damental mission of governmental agencies in Saudi Arabia. However, the adoption of e-Government systems is less than satisfactory in many countries, particularly in developing coun- tries. This is a significant factor that can lead to e-Government failure and, therefore, to the waste of budget and effort. One pertinent, unanswered question is what are the key factors that influence the adoption and utilisation level of users from business sector. Unlike much research in the literature that has utilised common technology acceptance models and theories to analyse the adoption of e-Government, which may not be sufficient for such analysis, this study proposes a conceptual framework following a holistic approach to analyse key factors that influence the adoption and utilisation of e-Government in Saudi Arabia. The developed framework, E-Government Adoption and Utilisation Model (EGAUM), was developed based on critical evaluation of several common models and theories related to technology acceptance and use including Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), in conjunction with analysis of e-Government adoption literature. The study involved 48 participating business entities from two major cities in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh and Jeddah. The descriptive and statistical analyses are presented in this paper and the results indicated that all the proposed factors have degree of influence on the adoption and utilisation level. Perceived Benefits, Awareness, Previous Experience, and Regulations & Policies were found to be the significant factors that are most likely to influence the adoption and usage level of users from business sector. Keywords: E-Government; E-Services; Saudi Arabia; Technology Adoption; Influential Factors; Users’ Intention; Business Sector Perspectiv

Quality of Knowledge Technology, Returns to Production Technology and Economic Development

Presenting a discrete time version of the Romer (1986) model, this paper analyzes optimal paths in a one-sector growth model when the technology is not convex. We prove that for a given quality of knowledge technology, the countries could take-off if their initial stock of capital are above a critical level; otherwise they could face a poverty-trap. We show that for an economy which wants to take-off by means of knowledge technology requires three factors : large amount of initial knowledge, small fixed costs and a good quality of knowledge technology.Optimal Growth;optimal path;value fuction;poverty-trap;increasing returns

How Important is Technology? A Counterfactual Analysis

The multiplier effect of total factor productivity on aggregate output in the one-sector neoclassical growth model is well known, but what about the effects of regional productivity levels on the aggregate output as well as other national and regional variables? This paper studies the impact of productivity changes in the goods sector and the transportation sector in a general equilibrium trade model where agents in each location produce different varieties of a common set of goods. Wages are assumed to be equalized in nominal terms across locations, with differences in purchasing power (due to trade costs) offset by agents' preferences for particular locations in the initial steady-state. Instead of assuming iceberg costs, a transportation sector is modeled to allow an efficient distribution of workers across the production and transportation sectors. The state level data from the U.S. support the model, and the comparative statics exercises have several implications on the national and state-level variables of the U.S. economy. It is shown that if the national production technology level (i.e., the production technology level in each region) is doubled, the national output increases by 5 times, the price dispersion across regions increases by 20%, the population dispersion across regions decreases by 1%, and the ratio of production labor force to transportation labor force increases by 10 times. As the transportation costs approach zero, the national output increases by more than 10 times, the price dispersion across regions decreases by 20%, the population dispersion across regions increases by 1%, and the ratio of production labor force to transportation labor force increases by 5 times.Technology, Trade, Intermediate Inputs, Transportation

Towards A Competitive Manufacturing Sector

The Indian manufacturing sector has grown at an impressive average rate of 9.5 per cent annually since 2003-04. Its sustained growth is crucial for generating employment opportunities needed to absorb the rapidly expanding workforce. In this context, this paper reviews the current state of the sector and focuses on determinants of its competitiveness. The paper finds that Indian manufacturing sector exhibits a great deal of regional variation and a marked dualism between the organized and the unorganized segments in terms of both productivity and wage levels. The level of labour absorption in the organized manufacturing sector has been weak as reflected in the declining labour intensity in this sector. This does not augur well for achieving inclusive growth. We also find that although there have been significant changes in the composition of exports in the last 20 years; India is still a very small player at the global level, especially in knowledge intensive and advanced technology products. Finally, the paper explores Indias potential for transforming itself into a hub of mass manufacturing. We find that the main constraints in doing so have been the low level of R&D, relative lack of skilled personnel and relatively low FDI levels.manufacturing, competitiveness, mass manufacturing

The Evolution of Comparative Advantage: Measurement and Welfare Implications

Using an industry-level dataset of production and trade spanning 75 countries and 5 decades, and a fully speciÞed multi-sector Ricardian model, we estimate productivities at sector level and examine how they evolve over time in both developed and developing countries. We find that in both country groups, comparative advantage has become weaker: productivity grew systematically faster in sectors that were initially at the greater comparative disadvantage. The global welfare implications of this phenomenon are significant. Relative to the counterfactual scenario in which an individual countryÕs comparative advantage remained the same as in the 1960s, and technology in all sectors grew at the same country-specific average rate, welfare today is 1.9% lower at the median. The welfare impact varies greatly across countries, ranging from -0.5% to 6% among OECD countries, and from -9% to 27% among non-OECD countries. Remarkably, for the OECD countries, nearly all of the welfare impact is driven by changes in technology in OECD countries, and for the non-OECD countries, nearly all of the welfare impact is driven by changes in technology in non-OECD countries.evolution of comparative advantage, welfare, Ricardian models of trade