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on Discrete Choice Models |
| By: | Novice P. Bakehe; Ariel H. Fambeu; George B. Tamokwe Piaptie |
| Abstract: | The aim of this study was to analyse the changes in the determinants of Internet adoption and use in Cameroon. The study used two individual surveys carried out in 2008 and 2015. Using discrete choice models and a comparative analysis, the study was able to highlight three major results. Firstly, following the emergence of equipment that was more compatible with third-generation (3G) mobile technology (smartphones and tablets), possessing a “traditional” mobile telephone, which could enable Internet adoption in 2008, was no longer relevant in 2015. Other factors, such as being unemployed or possessing a laptop, which were not significant in 2008, had an impact on Internet use in 2015. Secondly, most of the socio-economic and social network factors which influenced Internet adoption and use in 2008 were still relevant in 2015. The key factors were the respondent’s education level, his/her age, and the number of Internet users in his/her social environment. Finally, the study found that the coefficients associated with the marginal effects of most of these invariant factors increased over time both in the Internet adoption and Internet use models. This means that as the Internet penetration rate increased and the means used to have Internet access became more diverse, the first-level and second-level digital divides tended to worsen. These results are likely to help the government develop and implement more effective digital policies aimed at promoting mass Internet use in Cameroon. One will think first and foremost of policies aimed at training and informing the people who do not have Internet access. However, it could also be policies that target those who already use the Internet but are “isolated”, and who do not have access to information and expert advice in their vicinity, and, who, as a consequence, use the Internet in a sub-optimal way and are likely to be disappointed. Key words:Internet adoption, Internet use, ICT, digital divide |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aer:rpaper:rp_336&r=dcm |
| By: | Mehmet Kutluay (Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam; Tinbergen Institute, Amsterdam/Rotterdam); Roy Brouwer (Department of Economics, University of Waterloo, Canada; Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam); Haripriya Gundimeda (Department of Economics, IIT Bombay, Mumbai); Nitin Lokhande (Department of Economics, IIT Bombay, Mumbai); Richard S. J. Tol (Department of Economics, University of Sussex; Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam; Department of Spatial Economics, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam; Tinbergen Institute, Amsterdam; CESifo, Munich) |
| Abstract: | After years of decline, malaria prevalence may increase in the future due to climate change, and spread to areas that have not experienced the disease before. Any policy that aims to mitigate or adapt to this scenario needs to take into account the economic benefits of avoided malaria (willingness to pay - WTP). Much work has been done on WTP, but not much is known about how WTP changes with the probability of becoming ill. To this end a survey is carried out in Mumbai, India, to compare respondents' WTP to avoid malaria across risky and less-risky areas. We find WTP to be 10% higher in risky areas than in less-risky areas. We also observe WTP to increase by more than 15% between malaria-experienced and naïve respondents, indicating a familiarity premium. These findings indicate higher welfare returns to climate change mitigation policies than previously thought. |
| Keywords: | malaria; willingness to pay; discrete choice experiment |
| JEL: | I12 Q51 |
| Date: | 2017–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sus:susewp:1917&r=dcm |
| By: | Simon Burgess; Ellen Greaves; Anna Vignoles |
| Abstract: | We study the process of school choice in England, using a new dataset giving all the preferences of all parents seeking a school place in state secondary schools. We set out new facts on the number of choices made, the chance of getting an offer from the first choice, and whether the nearest school is first choice. We use the rich data available to describe these choices by pupil characteristics, school characteristics and neighbourhood characteristics. We show that parents do pro-actively use the choice system, but that the admissions criteria do not work well for poorer families. |
| Date: | 2017–10–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bri:uobdis:17/689&r=dcm |