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on Payment Systems and Financial Technology |
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Issue of 2023‒10‒30
thirty papers chosen by |
| By: | Nguyen, Luan-Thanh |
| Abstract: | The use of mobile technology services in Vietnam has surged, offering convenience and enhancing various aspects of users' lives. This shift towards wireless connectivity has also affected financial transactions and remittances, aligning with goals of a cashless society and financial inclusion. Mobile money, a widely used mobile service, is examined in this study. We focus on the determinants affecting the adoption of mobile money services, which are of interest to mobile money firms, telecom companies, banks, and developers. Factors like price, social influence, and perceived risk are explored as they influence consumer acceptance. To succeed, service providers must lower costs, emphasize benefits, and ensure seamless functionality. User-friendliness, trust, and data security are essential for sustained adoption and financial inclusion. This study provides insights into mobile money adoption in Vietnam, guiding stakeholders in the mobile technology sector to adapt and thrive in this evolving landscape. |
| Keywords: | Mobile money, PLS-SEM, Vietnam, UTAUT |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esconf:278113&r=pay |
| By: | Shilov, Kirill (Шилов, Кирилл) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration); Zubarev, Andrey (Зубарев, Андрей) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration) |
| Abstract: | In this study, we analyse whether such inner features of Ethereum blockchain as creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications influence in any way the price dynamics of Ethereum’s native cryptocurrency Ether or the latter can be mainly explained by the cryptocurrency market movements. Our results show that various on-chain metrics and total value locked in Ethereum’s DeFi protocols are almost insignificantly correlated with Ether returns on daily and weekly data. The corresponding regression models are also not able to explain a sufficient part of the variation of Ether returns relative to USD and BTC. |
| Keywords: | cryptocurrency, blockchain, Ethereum, Bitcoin, financial markets, financial assets |
| JEL: | G12 G15 C52 |
| Date: | 2023–04–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rnp:wpaper:w20220221&r=pay |
| By: | Alexandra Sutton-Lalani; Sebastian Hernandez; John Miedema; Jiamin Dai; Badr Omrane |
| Abstract: | Digitalization—the use of data, digital platforms and advanced analytics—has quickly become widespread in today’s society. This has introduced new opportunities, but it has also created new barriers and exacerbated existing inequities. This is likewise true in the realm of payments, where issues around financial inclusion, digital inclusion and accessibility compound the challenges for users. Our work expands on that of Henry et al. (2023). We base our research on two key premises. First, we apply the social model of disability to the Canadian payments landscape to identify opportunities to remove barriers that marginalize or hinder people. Second, we investigate beyond the standard economic measures and aggregate statistics related to these topics to build a nuanced understanding of the challenges inherent in the current system. Our findings highlight important areas of research and design consideration for new digital payment products and services, specifically for central banks contemplating the introduction of a central bank digital currency. We identify barriers that rural populations, Indigenous communities, Canadians with low incomes and persons with disabilities face in using financial products. We also note a deficiency in the current research and payment offerings for those with cognitive accessibility challenges. With these findings, we aim to build awareness of the inequities and challenges present in the current payments system and motivate existing financial technology providers to move toward offering more-inclusive products and services. |
| Keywords: | Bank notes; Central bank research; Digital currencies and fintech; Digitalization; Financial services |
| JEL: | A14 E42 E50 I31 O33 O51 |
| Date: | 2023–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bca:bocadp:23-22&r=pay |
| By: | Zubarev, Andrey (Зубарев, Андрей) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration); Shilov, Kirill (Шилов, Кирилл) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration) |
| Abstract: | The field of cryptocurrencies has been in existence and dynamically developing for over 14 years. Each year sees the advent of new cryptocurrencies, with their total count now exceeding 8, 500, and it is evident that these differ from one another in some respects. However, there currently exists no exhaustive categorization of cryptocurrencies that could comprehensively describe the landscape of the cryptocurrency market. This situation underpins the relevance of the present study. The object of this study is cryptocurrencies. The aim of the research is to create a taxonomy of cryptocurrencies based on their primary characteristics and functions. The main method of research is a retrospective analysis of the development of the cryptocurrency sector from the creation of Bitcoin to the present day. Over the course of the industry's evolution, new projects emerged, substantially different in their properties from anything that had come before, thus forming entirely new categories and niches in the cryptocurrency space. Furthermore, the advent of certain types of cryptocurrencies could lead to changes in the existing classification. The outcome of this study is a hierarchical categorization (taxonomy) of interchangeable cryptocurrencies/tokens. The proposed taxonomy is supplemented by an in-depth examination of cryptocurrencies belonging to each category, as well as a consideration of the largest cryptocurrencies in terms of capitalization through its prism. The scientific novelty of this research lies in the absence of similar studies that look at the issue of categorizing cryptocurrencies through a historical lens. |
| Keywords: | Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, Blockchain, Smart Contracts, Ethereum, Decentralized Finance, DeFi |
| JEL: | F39 G23 |
| Date: | 2023–05–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rnp:wpaper:w20220220&r=pay |
| By: | Martins, Lurdes |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to assess whether cyber insecurity can stand in the way of the trust needed by industry, governments and citizens to reduce observed international differences in several dimensions of the digital economy and society. Furthermore, we explore the extent to which our results are especially relevant for countries exhibiting early stages of mobile communications networks. We combine data, at the national level, from the 2017 Microsoft SIR regional reports with broader information data from the ITU cybersecurity index for the period 2014-2021 to obtain empirical evidence on the relationship between cyber security and digital and online services expansion at the country level. We find a negative relationship between citizens, government and businesses' overall digital adoption and cyber insecurity at the country level. Furthermore, we extend this result to the relationship between cybersecurity and online services diffusion, especially for apps and social media expansion. The results confirm that, in addition to other socioeconomic variables, cybersecurity is an important factor explaining the observed worldwide disparities in the studied online services access and usage. We also ascertain that the distribution of cybersecurity across countries may affect social media penetration to a lower extent in economies with lower mobile communications connectivity in comparison with more developed ones. By contrast, there seems to exist a similar negative cybersecurity effect in apps development and availability for all countries regardless of their mobile connectivity development level. |
| Keywords: | cybersecurity, digital divide, socioeconomic inequalities |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse23:278001&r=pay |
| By: | Houngbonon, Georges V.; Ivaldi, Marc; Palikot, Emil; Strusani, Davide |
| Abstract: | A substantial number of individuals remains unconnected to the Internet despite an increasing emphasis on infrastructure-based competition. This paper investigates the impact of shared telecom infrastructure on digital connectivity and inclusion using a new dataset on mobile tower sharing transactions between 2008 and 2020, i.e., acquisitions of towers by independent companies from mobile network operators to be rented back to all operators. Estimates based on differencein- differences with different timing of treatment suggest that these transactions resulted in a significant drop in the price of mobile connectivity as well as an increase in availability and uptake of mobile Internet, especially by rural households and women. Our findings suggest that increased competition intensity through reduced market concentration appears to be the main driver of these outcomes. |
| Keywords: | Mobile Telecommunications, Vertical Integration, Digital Technology Adoption |
| JEL: | L96 L14 O14 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse23:277970&r=pay |
| By: | Sousa Prado, Tiago |
| Abstract: | The rise of digital platforms as a business model and a critical infrastructure for the digital economy is causing increasing trepidation among scholars and competition policy enforcers. In response to concerns about platform dominance, policies that were in place since the 1990s to keep the digital economy free from traditional regulation are being reconsidered. In these discussions, competition is considered an essential mechanism to harness the social and economic benefits of digital platforms, as it serves to attenuate potential risks to innovation, democracy, and to the media industry. This paper contributes to these discussions theoretically and empirically. It addresses some of the challenges of designing comprehensive responses to safeguard and promote competition in digital markets. The focus of the investigation is the assessment of market power in digital markets. First, a conceptual framework is developed, and it is shown that there is a need for new tests in addition to the traditional evaluation of the competitive structure of platform markets. The analysis concludes that to have significant impact in promoting competition in digital markets policy remedies should be enforced jointly on both the user- and supplier sides of the platforms. Second, the article reports results of an online survey experiment with 550 participants. The results suggest that an analysis of user responses to digital ads and data collection procedures would greatly improve the assessments of market power. Overall, this paper develops theoretically and empirically grounded contributions that will help policymakers and regulatory agencies in the design of workable approaches to assess market power in digital markets. |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse23:278014&r=pay |
| By: | Sihan Fang (Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798 Singapore); Hyeokkoo Eric Kwon (Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798 Singapore); Tian Lu (Arizona State University, 400 E Lemon St, Tempe, AZ, 85281 US); Yingjie Zhang (Peking University, No.5 Yiheyuan Road, Haidian, Beijing, 100871 China) |
| Abstract: | We have witnessed the convenience of mobile channels and how they boost user engagement in multiple industries. Such positive effects might or might not stay with users’ financial behavior since it requires a significant cognitive effort and risk preferences could also alter the effect direction. Moreover, regarding their effects on two-sided platforms, prior studies have focused on the decision-making of one single side. This might bias our understanding of mobile channels, especially in the finance sector, where lenders’ behavior would be influenced by borrowers’ application quality and quantity. To bridge these gaps, we investigate how mobile channels shape the behaviors of both borrowers and lenders in peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms, as well as the corresponding impacts on credit risk management and economic return. Drawing upon the cognitive load theory, we postulate that borrowers and lenders under heavy and mild cognitive load would exhibit distinct behaviors when submitting loan applications or approving loan requests, respectively. Empirically, we collaborate with a leading P2P lending platform to launch two-sided field experiments, in which we randomly assign mobile treatments to borrowers and lenders. The results illustrate that mobile borrowers are more likely to terminate loan submissions, especially during peak commuting hours. By contrast, mobile lenders have a higher tendency to approve loan applications within a shorter period. Surprisingly, we observe no change in the quality of submitted or approved loans. Considering the improved debt collection capability of the platform, we reveal that mobile adoption brings profit enhancement. We offer multiple theoretical and managerial implications. |
| Keywords: | Mobile adoption; Cognitive load theory; Peer-to-peer lending; Two-sided behavior; Field experiment |
| JEL: | G41 M31 O17 O33 |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:net:wpaper:2301&r=pay |
| By: | Mariani, Lucas A.; Haas Ornelas, José Renato; Ricca, Bernardo |
| Abstract: | We investigate how the presence of physical bank branches moderates financial technology diffusion. Our identification strategy uses services suspensions caused by criminal groups that perform hit-and-run raids exploding branch facilities and rendering them inoperable for months. We show that the shock depletes the cash inventory of branches, but the stock of credit and deposits remain unaffected. We then document that customers increase their usage of noncash payments after the events. We investigate a new instant payment technology called Pix that was a remarkable success in terms of adoption. After robbery events, the number and value of Pix intra-municipality transactions increase, as well as the number of users. We also find Pix usage spillover effects that go beyond cash substitution. First, the number of Pix transactions and users also increases when either the payer or the payee is in an unaffected municipality. Second, we show that there are local spillovers to digital institutions, indicating that cash dependence can be an impediment to their expansion. Our results shed light on the determinants of technology adoption and the consequences of the recent transition in the banking industry from a physical branch-based model to an increasing reliance on digital services. |
| Keywords: | Banking;Technology adoption;Payment methods |
| JEL: | E42 E51 G20 O33 |
| Date: | 2023–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:12812&r=pay |
| By: | Nikil Chande; Zhentong Lu; Hiru Rodrigo; Phoebe Tian |
| Abstract: | Canada transitioned to a new wholesale payment system, Lynx, in August 2021. Lynx is based on a real-time settlement model that eliminates credit risk in the system. This model can require more liquidity; however, Lynx’s design allows Canada’s wholesale payments to settle efficiently. |
| Keywords: | Financial institutions; Financial services; Financial system regulation and policies; Payment clearing and settlement systems |
| JEL: | C1 C10 E4 E42 G2 G28 |
| Date: | 2023–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bca:bocsan:23-14&r=pay |
| By: | Kshetri, Nir |
| Abstract: | Web3 and the metaverse present several unique challenges from security and privacy standpoints. This paper looks at key features of these technological innovations from privacy and security angles and discusses how they are vulnerable to various types of breaches, bugs and attacks as well as other types of scams, frauds, and deceits. It offers a detailed description of technological environment and institutional level factors that can lead to increased privacy violations and security breaches in Web3 and the metaverse. The paper will discuss how newness, novelty and complexity of technologies involved and weak architectural security of Web3, and the metaverse are likely to provide a fruitful environment for cybercriminals and other perpetrators. On the regulatory front, it points out that privacy and security laws of the Web2 era are not sufficient to deal with the environments of Web3 and the metaverse. The paper also argues that the preparedness to provide security and privacy in the metaverse's multidimensional and multi-sensory environment is currently lacking at the industry level. It analyzes the level and nature of the impacts of privacy violations and security breaches on consumers and victims in the Web 3 and the metaverse environments. It gives special consideration to the multisensory environment of the metaverse which can lead to more adverse impacts on users and victims in case of privacy violations and security breaches. The paper also demonstrates how security breaches in Web3 and the metaverse are likely to lead to immediate harms to victims. It promotes an understanding of how blockchain, which is the key building block of Web 3 and the metaverse, can be vulnerable under certain conditions. The paper also delves into cyberattacks and other malicious behaviors targeting crypto-assets such as cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are key enabling technologies of Web3 and the metaverse economies. It provides guidelines and suggestions for consumers, businesses, industries and nations to enhance security of Web3 and the metaverse. |
| Keywords: | Metaverse, privacy, security, self-sovereign identity, Web3 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse23:277993&r=pay |
| By: | Datta, Namita; Rong, Chen; Singh, Sunamika; Stinshoff, Clara; Iacob, Nadina; Nigatu, Natnael Simachew; Nxumalo, Mpumelelo; Klimaviciute, Luka |
| Abstract: | Jobs are crucial for individual well-being. They provide a livelihood and, equally important, a sense of dignity. They are also crucial for collective well-being and economic growth. Over the past decade, technology has fundamentally shifted traditional work patterns, creating new ways in which work is contracted, performed, managed, scheduled, and remunerated. New business models, digital platform firms, are allowing the effects of technology to reach more people more quickly, bringing economic opportunity to millions of people who do not live in industrialized countries or even industrial areas, simply with access to broadband and a digital device (World Bank 2019). Digital labor platforms play a role in the process of structural transformation especially by triggering organizational and occupational transformations, for example, by enhancing labor productivity and formalization in service sectors (Nayyar, Hallward-Driemeier, and Davies 2021). New forms of work, known as gig jobs, enabled by digital platforms, have now gained momentum (Eurofound 2020). |
| Keywords: | Gig jobs; youth employment; women; skills; technology; jobs; social protection; labor transformation; digital platforms. |
| Date: | 2023–07–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:jbsgrp:32573393&r=pay |
| By: | Gandelman, Néstor; Lluberas, Rodrigo; Misail, Daniel; IDB Invest |
| Abstract: | Uruguay implemented an ambitious financial inclusion program that included a fiscal stimulus through VAT rebates and subsidies for point of sale (POS) adoption. One of its main provisions banned cash payment of wages and social benefits and forced financial institutions to open wage-accounts with extremely beneficial conditions. In the aggregate, the number of debit cards transactions increased sharply. We test the wage-banking channel of the financial program exploiting differences in the treatment intensity between public sector and private sector workers. We find that while the provision of bank accounts increased the number of debit cards, it had modest effects on the probability of payment with cards that are mostly produced by a more intensive use of debit cards by those who already had them before the Financial Inclusion Act went into effect. Thus, the aggregate effects must be produced by the fiscal channel of the financial inclusion program. Finally, we fail to find effects on either access to short-term credit or expenditure or savings. |
| JEL: | D12 G21 G50 |
| Date: | 2023–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:12769&r=pay |
| By: | Windekilde, Iwona; Henten, Anders |
| Abstract: | During the past few years, there has been a steeply increasing political interest in regulating Big Tech companies and digital platforms in general. For many years, from the establishment of the first Internet-based IT companies and onwards, the dominant political view has been that policymaking should, to a large extent, stay away from regulating or only lightly regulate the Internet-based industries. The risk of doing more harm than good would be too high - not having sufficient knowledge on how these industries would develop and risking constraining the innovativeness of the Internet-based industries. This has clearly changed today. In Europe as well as the US and elsewhere around the world, policy initiatives are taken to regulate Big Tech and the Internet-based industries in general. This applies to the protection of individuals/users/consumers as well as regulating competition. The reason is that a consensus has been gaining ground that we now have sufficient experience not only with the benefits to the economy, to users, and society as such of the developments of Internet and Internet-based industries but also with the downsides in terms of harm to individuals/users/consumers and social and political relations and institutions and to small and upcoming innovative companies. This has led to an increasing surge in rules and regulations for the protection of individuals as well as the competitive conditions on markets. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the ongoing and upcoming trends in Big Tech regulation with a focus on EU. Emphasis is on the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA) though it is well understood that there are other kinds of regulation that also affect digital platforms including Big Tech companies. (...) |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse23:278023&r=pay |
| By: | Sylvain B. Ngassam (University of Dschang, Cameroon); Simplice Asongu (Yaoundé, Cameroon); Gildas T. Ngueleweu (University of Dschang, Cameroon) |
| Abstract: | Despite a growing literature on the determinants of corruption, existing studies are sparse on the channels through which social media curbs corruption using panel data. Social media is captured by the percentages of the population and elites that use social media for offline political actions (OPA). This research uses annual data from a panel of 47 African countries over the period 2000–2018. Results show that social media used by the population for OPA directly curbs executive, judicial and legislative corruption. The use of social media by elites for OPA boosts corruption in the judicial sector. Moreover, social media indirectly curbs corruption through their effects on civil society participation. Reducing corruption in Africa requires inter alia, policies aimed at promoting the use of social media for OPA, the emergence of dynamic and effective civil society participation and the improvement of the quality of democracy. |
| Keywords: | social media, executive corruption, judicial corruption, legislative corruption, democracy, civil society |
| Date: | 2023–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:agd:wpaper:23/059&r=pay |
| By: | Kumar Chandrakamal Pramod Kumar (Institute of Economic Studies, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic) |
| Abstract: | Digital payments are growing rapidly, and the use of cash seems to be declining, at least in advanced economies in Europe and the U.S. However, the literature on payment systems provides an interesting perspective- cash, or currency, when measured as a percentage of the gross domestic product, has not been falling as clearly as might be intuited. Contrarily, many economies face an increase in currency in circulation rates. This paper discusses this topic in literature and explores the determinants of currency in circulation in a panel of 17 countries between 2001-2022 and whether determinants from prior literature are also significant across a group of heterogeneous countries. Interest rates are found to affect the demand for cash significantly and negatively, while tax revenues have a significantly positive impact. Some measures of financial development are also considered but are found to not have any strong explanatory power. Country fixed effects regression analysis suggests that determining what type of economies may have higher or lower currency in circulation is a complex matter requiring more detailed investigation. |
| Keywords: | Currency in circulation, Monetary demand, Panel data, Fixed-effects regression, Interest rates, tax revenue |
| JEL: | E12 E41 E50 E51 |
| Date: | 2023–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fau:wpaper:wp2023_32&r=pay |
| By: | Arenal, Alberto; Armuña, Cristina; Ramos, Sergio; Feijoo, Claudio; Aguado-Terrón, Juan Miguel |
| Abstract: | This paper study the challenges from the digital transformation of the music industry and the potential role of blockchain from the perspective of the Collective Management Organizations (CMO). Building on desk research and primary data from 9 semi-structured surveys with C level executives, this empirical analysis identifies main projects, their state of development and perspectives for this technology in music industry. Findings conclude that there are a limited number of blockchain projects led and/or with relevant participation of CMO and most of them are just research, proof of concept or pilots, far from a massive commercial phase. In addition, blockchain is not a priority for CMO and its adoption is not a priority in the digital transformation of this companies. The low quality of the data in the origin and the potential governance issues among different stakeholders within music industry appear as the main barriers for blockchain to be considered as a global solution. Ultimately, results in the paper provide a snapshot about the current state and future curve of adoption of blockchain as a solution to manage intellectual property rights in music industry. |
| Keywords: | digital music ecosystem, digital transformation, blockchain, Collective Management Organization, CMO |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse23:277943&r=pay |
| By: | Alejandra Agustina Martínez (University of Leicester) |
| Abstract: | Do peers influence individuals’ involvement in political activism? To provide a quantitative answer, I study Argentina’s abortion rights debate through Twitter, the social media platform. Pro-choice and pro-life activists coexisted online, and the evidence suggests peer groups were not too polarized. I develop a model of strategic interactions in a network allowing for heterogeneous peer effects. Next, I estimate peer effects and test whether online activism exhibits strategic substitutability or complementarity. I create a novel panel dataset where links and actions are observable by combining tweets’ and users’ information. I provide a reduced-form analysis by proposing a network-based instrumental variable. The results indicate strategic complementarity in online activism from both aligned and opposing peers. Notably, the evidence suggests homophily in the formation of Twitter’s network, but it does not support the hypothesis of an echo-chamber effect. |
| Keywords: | Political activism; Peer effects; Social networks; Social media |
| JEL: | D74 D85 P00 Z13 |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aoz:wpaper:277&r=pay |
| By: | Maximilian Schaefer (Institut Mines-Télécom Business School, Department of Law, Economics and Finance, 9 rue Charles Fourrier, 91000 Evry, France); Kevin Ducbao Tran (University of Bristol, School of Economics, 12 Priory Road, Bristol BS8 1TU, United Kingdom) |
| Abstract: | We analyze competition between hotels and Airbnb listings as well as the effect of Airbnb on consumer welfare, hotel profits, and Airbnb host surplus. For this purpose, we use granular daily-level data from Paris for the year 2017. We estimate a random coefficient logit model of demand. We extend prior research by accounting for the localized nature of competition within districts of the city. Our results suggest that demand is segmented by district as well as accommodation type. Based on these demand estimates, we estimate separate supply-side models for hotels and Airbnb, to account for differences in price setting we observe in the data. Using the estimated models, we assess how Airbnb affects hotel profits and consumer welfare and how much Airbnb hosts value the platform. Our simulations imply that Airbnb increases average consumer surplus and decreases hotel profits substantially. Airbnb hosts seem to value the platform moderately. |
| Keywords: | hotel industry; short-term rentals; localized competition; consumer welfare; sharing economy; peer-to-peer markets; Airbnb |
| JEL: | D4 D6 L1 Z38 |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:net:wpaper:2304&r=pay |
| By: | Kenji Saito; Yutaka Soejima; Toshihiko Sugiura; Yukinobu Kitamura; Mitsuru Iwamura |
| Abstract: | Since the Merge update upon which Ethereum transitioned to Proof of Stake, it has been touted that it resulted in lower power consumption and increased security. However, even if that is the case, can this state be sustained? In this paper, we focus on the potential impact of competition with other smart contract platforms on the price of Ethereum's native currency, Ether (ETH), thereby raising questions about the safety and sustainability purportedly brought about by the design of Proof of Stake. |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2309.11394&r=pay |
| By: | Anna Papp; Douglas Almond; Shuang Zhang |
| Abstract: | Environmental externalities from cryptomining may be large, but have not been linked causally to mining incentives. We exploit daily variation in Bitcoin price as a natural experiment for an 86 megawatt coal-fired power plant with on-site cryptomining. We find that carbon emissions respond swiftly to mining incentives, with price elasticities of 0.69-0.71 in the short-run and 0.33-0.40 in the longer run. A $1 increase in Bitcoin price leads to $3.11-$6.79 in external damages from carbon emissions alone, well exceeding cryptomining’s value added (using a $190 social cost of carbon, but ignoring increased local air pollution). As cryptomining requires ever more computing power to mine a given number of blocks, our study highlights both the revitalization of US fossil assets and the potential value of financial industry accounting standards that incorporate cryptomining externalities. |
| JEL: | Q40 Q58 |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31745&r=pay |
| By: | Eric A. Hanushek; Lavinia Kinne; Pietro Sancassani; Ludger Woessmann |
| Abstract: | Decisions to invest in human capital depend on people’s time preferences. We show that differences in patience are closely related to substantial subnational differences in educational achievement, leading to new perspectives on longstanding within-country disparities. We use social-media data – Facebook interests – to construct novel regional measures of patience within Italy and the United States. Patience is strongly positively associated with student achievement in both countries, accounting for two-thirds of the achievement variation across Italian regions and one-third across U.S. states. Results also hold for six other countries with more limited regional achievement data. |
| JEL: | I21 J24 Z10 |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31690&r=pay |
| By: | Levashenko, Antonina (Левашенко, Антонина) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration); Girich, Maria (Гирич, Мария) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration) |
| Abstract: | The subject of the study is the analysis of legal relations arising in connection with employment on online platforms, including the provision of minimum labor guarantees by the platforms, regulation of self-employment, taxation, social insurance, cab platforms and courier services. The relevance of the study stems from the fact that a number of countries, including Russia, are trying to develop approaches to regulate the application of labor law, taxation and social insurance to persons providing services or work through platforms. In addition, there are various aspects of the regulation of employment on platforms in certain sectors of platform work, in particular in the provision of cab services and courier delivery. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that the work solves the problem of creating in Russia an effective system of regulating the status of persons working through online platforms, employment on online platforms, taking into account the standards of international organizations. The purpose of the study is to formulate proposals for the extension of minimum labor guarantees (the right to work safety, to guaranteed wages not lower than the minimum wage, the right to protection against unemployment, the right to rest, etc.) to persons providing services or work through platforms, as well as to determine the criteria for the existence of labor relations with such persons, the possibility of recording the labor (insurance period) of self-employed working through platforms, social insurance and taxation, regulation of cab and courier platforms activities etc. The methodology of the study is based on the application of methods of logical, systematic and comparative analysis using Russian and foreign normative legal acts, analytical materials of competent authors and international organizations. As a result of the study proposals for the development of the regulation of employment on online platforms, as well as the status of persons employed on the platforms, based on the analysis of OECD standards and the legislation of member countries and partners of the Organization are formulated. In order to achieve the goal the following tasks are planned: - analysis of the standards of the OECD and other international organizations on the regulation of the status of persons working through platforms and platform employment on the application of labor law, tax law, social insurance law, on the regulation of cab and courier services, on the formation of statistics; - analysis of the experience of the OECD member states in regulating the status of persons working through platforms and platform employment; - analysis of legal problems in Russia related to the regulation of the status of platform workers and platform employment; - the formation of proposals for the development of legal regulation of the status of persons working through platforms and platform employment in Russia, including in terms of the adoption of response measures that affect the development of online employment. The results of the study were the development of proposals for Russia on the development of guarantees for persons employed on online platforms in terms of providing some rights similar to labor, the development of taxation and social insurance, statistical records of platform employment, providing guarantees in certain industries (cab services and courier services). The perspective of the study lies in the need to improve the Russian legislation in terms of protecting the rights of persons employed on platforms, which enter into a relationship with the platform, similar to labor. |
| Keywords: | employment, online platforms, labor rights, platform economy, OECD |
| Date: | 2022–11–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rnp:wpaper:w20220216&r=pay |
| By: | Kenechukwu E. Anadu; Pablo D. Azar; Catherine Huang; Marco Cipriani; Thomas M. Eisenbach; Gabriele La Spada; Mattia Landoni; Marco Macchiavelli; Antoine Malfroy-Camine; J. Christina Wang |
| Abstract: | Stablecoins and money market funds both seek to provide investors with safe, money-like assets but are vulnerable to runs in times of stress. In this paper, we investigate similarities and differences between the two, comparing investor behavior during the stablecoin runs of 2022 and 2023 to investor behavior during the money market fund runs of 2008 and 2020. We document that, similarly to money market fund investors, stablecoin investors engage in flight to safety, with net flows from riskier to safer stablecoins during run periods. However, whereas in money market funds, run risk has historically materialized only in prime funds, with stablecoins, runs occurred in different stablecoin types across the 2022 and 2023 episodes. We also show that, similar to intrafamily flows in money market funds, stablecoin flows tend to be within blockchains. Finally, for stablecoins, we estimate a discrete “break-the-buck” threshold of $0.99, below which redemptions accelerate. |
| Keywords: | stablecoins; money market mutual funds; financial stability; crypto assets; runs; liquidity transformation |
| JEL: | G10 G20 G23 |
| Date: | 2023–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedbwp:97050&r=pay |
| By: | Burlando, Alfredo (University of Oregon); Kuhnk, Michael A. (University of Oregon); Prina, Silvia (Northeastern University) |
| Abstract: | Digital loans are a source of fast, short-term credit for millions of people. While digital credit broadens market access and reduces frictions, default rates are high. We study the role of the speed of delivery of digital loans on repayment. Our study uses unique administrative data from a digital lender in Mexico and a regression-discontinuity design. We show that reducing loan speed by doubling the delivery time from ten to twenty hours decreases the likelihood of default by 21%. Our findings suggest that selectively slowing down credit could improve lender profitability and help consumers avoid default. |
| Keywords: | digital credit, waiting periods, defaults, financial access |
| JEL: | D14 D18 G51 O16 |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16451&r=pay |
| By: | Kshetri, Nir |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential roles of blockchain in ensuring quality, and safety and promoting sustainability in the production and distribution of food and beverage products. A multiple case study approach has been chosen as the principal methodology. The article highlights how blockchain deployment in inter-organizational transactions reduces uncertainty in the actions of supply chains participants and makes dependence among value chain partners more symmetric, which can help improve quality and safety and promote sustainability in the food and beverage industry. It describes how blockchain's impact on interfirm governance structures in the food and beverage industry can be improved by increasing the number and types of participants. Also discussed is how blockchain's impact on reducing interfirm governance structures in the food and beverage industry can be improved by combining this technology with other emerging technologies. Finally, it considers how blockchain-based solutions can increase the degree of distributive fairness in the food and beverage industry and improve small-holder farmers' chance of being integrated in the global economy. The article gives special consideration to blockchain's potential in improving interfirm governance in the food and beverage industry. It explains how blockchain may reduce uncertainty in the actions of supply chain participants. The article shows how blockchain can make dependence among supply chain partners more symmetric. It suggests that by stimulating entrepreneurial opportunities for marginalized groups and promoting distributive fairness, blockchain can help take actions that are socially responsible. |
| Keywords: | blockchain, food and beverage industry, interfirm relationships, smart contracts, sustainability, uncertainty |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse23:277990&r=pay |
| By: | Michael S. Barr |
| Date: | 2023–09–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgsq:96965&r=pay |
| By: | Leonardo Bursztyn (University of Chicago and NBER); (University of California Berkeley and NBER); Rafael Jiménez Durán (Bocconi University and Chicago Booth Stigler Center); Christopher Roth (University of Cologne, Max Planck Institute for Collective Goods, briq, CESifo, and CEPR) |
| Abstract: | Individuals might experience negative utility from not consuming a popular product. For example, being inactive on social media can lead to social exclusion or not owning luxury brands can be associated with having a low social status. We show that, in the presence of such spillovers to non-users, standard measures that take aggregate consumption as given fail to appropriately capture welfare. We propose a new methodology to measure welfare that accounts for these consumption spillovers, which we apply to estimate the consumer surplus of two popular social media platforms, TikTok and Instagram. In large-scale, incentivized experiments with college students, we show that, while the standard welfare measure suggests a large and positive surplus, our measure accounting for consumption spillovers indicates a negative surplus, with a large share of active users deriving negative utility. We also shed light on the drivers of consumption spillovers to non-users in the case of social media and show that, in this setting, the “fear of missing out” plays an important role. Our framework and estimates highlight the possibility of product market traps, where large shares of consumers are trapped in an inefficient equilibrium and would prefer the product not to exist. |
| Keywords: | Welfare; Consumption Spillovers; Collective Trap; Coordination; Product Market Traps; Social Media. |
| JEL: | D83 D91 P16 J15 |
| Date: | 2023–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ajk:ajkdps:260&r=pay |
| By: | Bo Bian; Michaela Pagel; Huan Tang |
| Abstract: | Companies near constantly surveil their customers to collect, analyze, and profit from their private information. A prevailing concern is that the market for private data and security breaches expose consumers to financial fraud. In this study, we exploit Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) policy, which greatly limited the tracking and sharing of personal information on the iOS platform, providing a major shock to the data industry. Using a difference-in-differences design and granular variations in iOS user shares across the US, we find that if 10% more people disallow tracking, the number of financial fraud complaints in the average zip code decreases by approximately 3.21%. We then show that the effects are concentrated in complaints related to lax data security and privacy, identified using keyword searches and machine learning on complaint narratives, and in complaints about firms that engage in intensive consumer surveillance and lack data safeguards. Our evidence quantifies one of the main consumer costs of lax data security standards. |
| JEL: | G5 |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31692&r=pay |
| By: | Cagigas, Diego; Clifton, Judith; Diaz-Fuentes, Daniel; ernández-Gutiérrez, Marcos; Harpes, Carlo |
| Abstract: | The adoption of a new technology such as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) in government is a complex process with numerous potential benefits, but also costs and risks. Early pilots introducing DLT into the public sector show that its potential impact will likely vary depending on the context, including, the type of public service. Even within the same public service, the impact of DLT might be distinct for each of the stakeholders involved (the government, civil servants and citizens, among others). As the public sector is diverse, it is critical to get a proper analysis and understanding of the process of introduction of this technology, which encompasses the different dimensions that play a role in the process. This paper presents an original and multidimensional evaluation framework to analyse and compare the benefits, costs and risks of the introduction of DLT in the public sector. It considers a comprehensive set of factors, identified and extracted after conducting a systematic review of the literature, representing potential benefits, costs and risks of DLT in the public sector. These are categorised into four separate dimensions: technological, socio-economic, organisational-cultural, and institutional (legal and political). This evaluation framework has been designed to be used by policy-makers interested in analysing and comparing the benefits and risks of the introduction of DLT in real-world applications of this technology in the public sector. |
| Keywords: | Distributed Ledger Technology, Blockchain, Government, Innovation policy, Evaluation framework, Public services |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse23:277947&r=pay |