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on Information and Communication Technologies |
| By: | Chris Belmert Milindi; Roula Inglesi-Lotz |
| Abstract: | This study examines the complex relationship between carbon emissions and technological progress in a sample of 60 countries, divided into four categories based on their per capita income between the periods of 1989-2018. For robustness purposes and due to the broad definition of technology, we use six different proxies to represent technology; namely: Information and telecommunication technology (ICT); patents; public R&D expenditure; total factor of productivity (TFP); and a number of science and technology publications. After applying the fixed-effect method with Driscoll and Kraay standard errors, for the full sample, the results show that the ICT variables are a good instrument for carbon abatement, while R&D expenditure and patents do not have a clear impact on carbon emissions, TFP increases carbon emissions, and science and technology publications are negatively related to carbon emissions. The impact of the indicators on the various income levels groups of countries vary which has significant policy implications. |
| Keywords: | Technological progress, Income groups, Rebound Effect, fixed effect methodology with Driscoll, and Kraay standards errors |
| JEL: | O30 O32 C23 Q56 |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rza:wpaper:855&r= |
| By: | Isaac K. Ofori (University of Insubria, Varese, Italy); Simplice A. Asongu (Yaoundé, Cameroon) |
| Abstract: | This study examines the joint effects of ICT diffusion (composed of access, usage and skills), and foreign direct investment (FDI) on inclusive growth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The study draws on data from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators, and the Global Consumption and Income Project for the period 1980–2019 for the analysis. The study provides evidence robust to several specifications from ordinary least squares and dynamic system GMM estimation techniques to show that: (1) FDI and ICT diffusion and corresponding components (ICT access, usage, skills) induce inclusive growth in SSA; (2) compared to its direct effect, FDI is remarkable in fostering shared growth in SSA in the presence of greater ICT diffusion, and (3) compared to ICT access and usage, ICT skills are more effective in driving inclusive growth in SSA. Overall FDI modulates ICT dynamics to engender positive synergy effects on inclusive growth. Policy recommendations are provided in line with the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement and the projected rise in FDI in SSA from 2022. |
| Keywords: | FDI; ICT Access; ICT Diffusion; ICT Skills; ICT Usage; Inclusive Growth; sub- Saharan Africa |
| JEL: | E23 F21 F30 L96 O55 |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:agd:wpaper:21/029&r= |
| By: | Cecchetti, Stephen G; Schoenholtz, Kermit |
| Abstract: | Technology has long had a profound impact on financial services. Today, it is changing the range of services offered, as well as their delivery, cost, and accessibility. Yet, despite the explosion of small firms applying new technologies, very few of these new fintech companies have a broad influence on financial activity. Even in some sectors with significant entry, unit costs of financial intermediation remain stubbornly high. At the same time, there are notable fintech successes, especially in the provision of payments and credit in China. Going forward, the impact of fintech is likely to be greatest where existing suppliers lack competitive incentives or sophistication. Over the next decade, the decisions of regulators will have a profound influence on the array of financial services available, on how they are delivered and to whom. In the advanced economies, regulators generally support greater fintech competition, favoring lower costs and improved access. Furthermore, as Big Tech firms and large incumbent financial institutions vie for dominance, their large fintech investments will make them increasingly alike. Over time, it is anyone's guess which of these firm types will win the race. |
| Keywords: | big tech; Central bank digital currency; digital currency; financial innovation; financial institutions; financial regulation; Financial Services; Fintech; peer-to-peer lending; Remittances |
| JEL: | G20 |
| Date: | 2020–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:15352&r= |
| By: | Chen, Shu; Gambacorta, Leonardo; Huang, Yiping; Li, Zhenhua; Qiu, Han |
| Abstract: | The use of massive amounts of data by large technology firms (big techs) to assess firms' creditworthiness could reduce the need for collateral in solving asymmetric information problems in credit markets. Using a unique dataset of more than 2 million Chinese firms that received credit from both an important big tech firm (Ant Group) and traditional commercial banks, this paper investigates how different forms of credit correlate with local economic activity, house prices and firm characteristics. We find that big tech credit does not correlate with local business conditions and house prices when controlling for demand factors, but reacts strongly to changes in firm characteristics, such as transaction volumes and network scores used to calculate firm credit ratings. By contrast, both secured and unsecured bank credit react significantly to local house prices, which incorporate useful information on the environment in which clients operate and on their creditworthiness. This evidence implies that a greater use of big tech credit â?? granted on the basis of machine learning and big data â?? could reduce the importance of collateral in credit markets and potentially weaken the financial accelerator mechanism. |
| Keywords: | asymmetric information; banks; Big Data; big tech; Collateral; credit markets |
| JEL: | D22 G31 R30 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:15262&r= |
| By: | Jocelyn Maillard (GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Université de Lyon - UJM - Université Jean Monnet [Saint-Étienne] - UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - Université de Lyon - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - ENS Lyon - École normale supérieure - Lyon) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effects of automation and offshoring on the dynamics of the occupational distribution of employment with a focus on Western Europe between 2000 and 2016. I use a general equilibrium model with three regions, three types of workers, ICT capital, trade in final goods and endogenous offshoring. Fed with exogenous measures of ICT-capital prices and trade costs, the model replicates key features of the data. It matches the observed dynamics of offshoring to Eastern Europe and Asian countries. It also reproduces accurately the observed polarization of the labor market: abstract and manual labor increase while routine labor falls. A counterfactual experiment reveals that automation is the main driver of polarization. Since it is also the only factor that drives individuals to become abstract (highskill) workers, it is welfare enhancing. The effects of falling trade costs on labor polarization are smaller, but imply welfare gains. |
| Keywords: | Automation,offshoring,labor-market polarization,European employment distribution |
| Date: | 2021–05–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-03219118&r= |
| By: | Eoin F. McGuirk; Nathan Nunn |
| Abstract: | We consider the effects of climate change on seasonally migrant populations that herd livestock – i.e., transhumant pastoralists – in Africa. Traditionally, transhumant pastoralists beneï¬ t from a cooperative relationship with sedentary agriculturalists whereby arable land is used for crop farming in the wet season and animal grazing in the dry season. Droughts can disrupt this arrangement by inducing pastoral groups to migrate to agricultural lands before the harvest, causing conflict to emerge. We examine this hypothesis by combining ethnographic information on the traditional locations of transhumant pastoralists and sedentary agriculturalists with high-resolution data on the location and timing of rainfall and violent conflict events in Africa from 1989–2018. We show that droughts in the territory of transhumant pastoralists lead to conflict in neighboring areas. Consistent with the hypothesis, these conflict events are concentrated in agricultural areas; they occur during the wet season and not the dry season; and they are due to rainfall’s impact on plant biomass growth. This mechanism explains a sizable proportion of conflict events in Africa, particularly civil conflicts and religious-extremist attacks. We ï¬ nd that the effects are muted in the presence of irrigation aid projects, but not in the presence of other forms of foreign aid. The effects approach zero as pastoral groups share more political power. |
| Keywords: | Transhumant pastoralism, sedentary agriculture, seasonal migration, conflict, weather |
| JEL: | N10 Q54 Z1 |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rza:wpaper:860&r= |
| By: | Milena Djourelova; Ruben Durante; Gregory J. Martin |
| Abstract: | How does competition from online platforms affect the organization, performance, and editorial choices of newspapers? And what are the implications of these changes for the information vot-ers are exposed to and for political accountability? We study these questions using the staggered introduction of Craigslist - the world’s largest online platform for classified advertising - across US counties between 1995 and 2009. This setting allows us to separate the effect of competition for classified advertising from other changes brought about by the Internet, and to compare newspapers that relied more or less heavily on classified ads ex ante. We find that, following the entry of Craigslist, local papers experienced a significant decline in the number of newsroom and management staff. Cuts in editorial staff disproportionately affected reporters covering politics. These organizational changes led to a reduction in news coverage of politics and political corrup-tion, and resulted in a decline in newspaper readership which was not compensated by increased news consumption on other media. Finally, we find some evidence that reduced news coverage of politics was associated with lower voter turnout, and more party-line voting for both citizens and politicians. |
| Keywords: | newspapers, internet, advertising, political accountability |
| JEL: | L82 L86 D72 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9090&r= |
| By: | Ojo, Marianne |
| Abstract: | What roles exist for public and private partnerships within the context of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), in an increasingly digitalized global system? Do central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) serve as public goods rather than tools which should primarily remain within the realm and governance of private sector firms? What challenges or risks are presented through the use of CBDCs and how can such risks be mitigated through current existing structures - as well as models which have been propounded in relation to public – private partnerships? This paper aims to contribute to the literature on the topic through a consideration of several variants and models of CBDCs under which the public private partnership would function, namely the synthetic CBDC (sCBDC) and the two-tiered CBDC. Further, two other types of CBDCs, namely the wholesale CBDC and the retail CBDC will be distinguished - as well as the account based CBDC, which is contrasted to CBDCs based on digital tokens. Whilst concerns for privacy and security remain paramount and cannot be undermined, particularly from the perspectives of distributed ledger technologies (and blockchains – through which such platforms operate), such concerns need to be weighed against the need for identification since regulators will be better supported in their goals in enforcing the law, as well as identifying fraudulent operations, where sufficient identification procedures have been put in place |
| Keywords: | CBDCs; synthetic CBDCs; two tiered CBDCs; retail CBDC; distributed ledger technologies; regulation; governance; anti trust ; competition; financial stability |
| JEL: | E58 F2 F64 G3 |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:107716&r= |
| By: | Yuki, Kazuhiro |
| Abstract: | Mechanization (or automation) has proceeded continuously since the Industrial Revolution and seems to have accelerated recently due to the rapid advancement of information technology. This paper theoretically examines long-run trends of mechanization, shifts of tasks humans perform, and earnings levels and inequality. Specifically, the paper develops a Ricardian model of task assignment and analyzes how improvements of productivities of machines and an increase in the relative supply of skilled workers affect task assignment (which factor performs which task), earnings levels and inequality, and aggregate output. The model succeeds in capturing the great majority of the long-run trends. The paper also explores possible future trends of the variables when information technology continues to grow rapidly. |
| Keywords: | mechanization, automation, task assignment, earnings inequality, information technology |
| JEL: | J24 J31 N30 O14 O33 |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:107760&r= |
| By: | Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution; Banca d’Italia; Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa; Deutsche Bundesbank; European Central Bank; Federal Reserve Board; Financial Conduct Authority; Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze; Prudential Regulation Authority; U.S. Treasury |
| Abstract: | This paper presents the proposal for a common categorisation of malicious cyber incidents (cyber‑attacks) and other information technology (IT) incidents formulated by ten financial authorities that are members of the G‑7 Cyber Expert Group (CEG) and that represent six of the G‑7 jurisdictions. The aim of the proposal is to promote the harmonisation of the various incident reports that authorities require from financial institutions by defining common principles and developing a common taxonomy for incident reporting. The adoption of these common principles and taxonomy should make incident reporting more robust and effective by facilitating a common understanding of incidents, the sharing of information, and the joint management of IT cross‑border crises. |
| Keywords: | it incidents, cyber incidents, operational incidents, taxonomy |
| JEL: | F50 G20 K24 L50 |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:wpmisp:mip_006_21&r= |