information technology

This report presents arguments as to why local governments should deliver universal, affordable high-speed information networks. The report contends that communities do themselves a disservice if they do not explore the option of a publicly owned network.

This report is a white paper by the Economist Intelligence Unit which creates an "IT industry competitiveness index" from a combination of 24 qualitative and quantitative measures. The index is computed for 64 countries from across the globe.

The report reveals that 8.5 percent of Chinas population now uses the Internet. It ranks third in the number of users worldwide behind the United States and Japan. Additionally, China added 17 million new users in 2005, with 8 million getting online since
the end of June last year.

This paper investigates on a marked case of regional inequality concerning the information and communication technology adoption process and the role of subsidies in Italy. There is a consolidated and persistent gap between the industrialized North and the sensibly backward South. Econometric results show that adoption of ICT is affected by the geographical location, the industry and firm characteristics. A matching estimator is applied to explore subsidies effectiveness. We find that subsidies have a significant impact but only for small firms.

The authors use a specially designed survey on French firms located in Haute-Savoie to provide empirical evidence suggesting that IT adoption is not only influenced by the traditional factors of technology
diffusion (rank, stock-order, epidemic effects and complementary organizational practices) but also by local diffusion of knowledge effects. The paper concludes that what is often explained as involuntary knowledge spillovers in the standard literature are well-regulated knowledge flows between firms, which are managed with deliberate appropriation purposes

The view about systematic irrationality of investors and managers in investment with reference to information and communication technology (ICT) with no effects on productivity growth is called productivity paradox. Research suggests that ICT return in developed nations is significant and positive, but not in developing countries. This paper challenges the above conclusion by examining the contribution of ICT to the Chinese economic growth. We investigate the relationship between TFP growth and ICT capital and provide estimation of the returns to ICT investment.

Using some new techniques of panel cointegration analysis, this paper describes the long-run impact of digital capital on the aggregate performance of the US and EU-15 member countries. ICT is found to significantly impact on output levels without substantial cross-country variation when one adopts the dynamic extension of panel OLS (PDOLS). In this case, however, the long-run elasticity of factor inputs does not differ from the one estimated in the short-run.

This GAO report finds that the US still maintains a strong global lead in semiconductor technologies, though steady R&D output will be necessary to maintain this advantage.

This paper examines the interaction between technology adoption and labor market conditions. Its results support the idea that differences in technology use across cities and their effect on wages reflect an equilibrium response to local factor supply conditions.