Accelerating the development of Latin American digital ecosystem and implications for broadband policy

In the past ten years the Latin American and Caribbean region has been advancing in terms of various digitization metrics, such as the deployment of broadband infrastructure, and the adoption of the Internet and social media. However, despite the significant progress in terms of digitization of consumption,¹ the region faces still some important development challenges of its digital economy. This paper attempts to identify what the future challenges are for Latin America and the Caribbean, which raises a number of research and policy questions: (1) How close is consumer digitization in Latin America and the Caribbean to the levels observed in industrialized countries? (2) How should Latin America and the Caribbean address the broadband and Internet demand gap of the non-adopting population? (3) Are current digitization trends homogeneous across countries in the region or do we observe a divergence across countries, indicating some advanced nations approaching industrialized country performance, while others lagging? (4) If infrastructure and consumer adoption of certain digital products and services is evolving at a fast pace, what are the upcoming digitization challenges? (5) If broadband is a critical lever for the development of digitization, what are the policies to be implemented by Latin American and Caribbean governments to maximize investment for deployment of last generation technologies and promote adoption? To answer these questions the authors have developed, with support of CAF Latin American Development Bank, a comprehensive digitization index. This new index is used to assess the development of Latin America and the Caribbean region vis-à-vis industrialized countries. On this basis, an econometric model is developed to measure the economic development impact of digitization. Zeroing in on broadband as a critical lever for the development of the digital economy, a set of infrastructure investment and adoption goals is defined for different countries in the region. Finally, public policies are recommended to achieving the established goals.     

Vision of future e-government via new e-government maturity model: Based on Korea's e-government practices

This paper analyze that the social paradigm shift caused by the new IT has brought the current highly-advanced information society following the industrial and information societies, and proposes a new e-government development model called as “E-Government Maturity Model based on Socio-political Development” that incorporates the level of social maturity based on e-democracy and the maturity level of civic society with statistic model. The new model classifies e-Government development into four stages: “Bureaucratic model”, “Information management model”, “Participatory model”, and “Governance model”. This paper also attempted to apply this model to e-government practices in Korea on the flow of time. E-government in Korea has mainly shown features of one distinct type at a time among four stages, as so far explained above. In this case, the former stage developed to the next level after going through the process of maturation in advancement of ICT and social maturity and political stability. This paper defined the ‘smart society’ as the highly-advanced information society from the Korean case study. Instead of literally interpreting the term ‘smart’, it should be comprehensively re-interpreted as a new academic term that reflects perspectives of social and technological changes, introducing new meanings. The definition and concept or the maturity level of the smart society shall be left for the future study suggestions. We have so far analyzed the characteristics of progressing toward the smart society based on Korea's cases of e-government development. The analysis, though started from certain cases of Korea, will be an applicable model to other countries as well, since Korea is in the leading group in terms of informatization. This paper is distinguished from the other studies because it is an analytical study on the non-technological factors of e-government development: especially focused on the political, socio-economic aspects of e-government. Despite the contribution mentioned above, this paper also has an academic limitation on the generalization of findings because of its a single case study on the Korea. So we will try to explain and analyze the other countries' cases with the research framework: E-Government Maturity Model based on Socio-political Development of this paper in the next studies. So, this model will be expected to be generally expandable and applicable to e-government cases of other countries.     

中国与拉美油气合作的机遇、障碍和对策

在国际金融危机影响蔓延,国际原油价格持续下跌的背景下,拉美主要油气生产国将有可能调整相关政策,加大力度吸引外资;墨西哥、巴西、哥伦比亚等拉美国家准备加大对油气勘探、开发、生产、炼制和运输的投资,为中国扩大与拉美国家的合作带来了新机遇.但是,拉美地区的政治风险、社会风险不容忽视;环境保护和劳工权益因素可能带来追加投资的风险;美国因素以及拉美地区日益激烈的油气市场竞争不可避免.在新形势下,中国石油企业应不断深化与东道国国有能源企业的合作;探索合作新模式,降低合作风险;强调企业行为,淡化政治色彩;实施本地化管理,规避社会风险;强化企业的社会责任意识,树立良好的中国公司形象,为造福当地人民作出更大的贡献.     

Assessment of E-government inclusion policies toward seniors: A framework and case study

Digital exclusion of seniors covers both social and technical drivers that affect the magnitude of this phenomenon. It arises from the fear of technology, reduced manual and mental abilities, socio-economic status, and also the mismatch between the technological environment and the needs of the elderly. The consideration of the needs of seniors are mainly implemented through social policies while the provision of government services is achieved through digitization policies and procedures. Our research is addressing two objectives. The first objective is to identify the main determinants affecting the adoption of e-government and its use by seniors. The second objective is to build a research framework for assessing e-government policy for the digital inclusion of the seniors from both social and technical perspectives. This research framework is then validated based on a case study of Poland. Presented framework proves to be a useful tool to evaluate and depict the areas of improvement for a comprehensive e-government policy toward seniors' inclusion.     

Cereal grain production: Potential for Latin America

The authors analyse the potential for self-sufficiency in cereal grain production in six different Latin American countries. Based on the assumptions and empirical results of this study, most Latin American countries, with the likely exceptions of Argentina and Colombia, will find it virtually impossible to become selfsufficient in cereal grain production in the 1980s. However, increased investment in agricultural research and the expansion of fertilizer use can help thwart potential cereal grain deficits. Fertilizer and cereal grain imports will be required in most countries to help increase the available supply of cereal grain.     

How advanced are Italian regions in terms of public e-services? The construction of a composite indicator to analyze patterns of innovation diffusion in the public sector

This paper applies an open and transparent methodology to construct a composite indicator for the analysis of the diffusion of ICT in the public sector and the development of public e-services across Italian regions. This methodology, based on OECD/EC-JRC Handbook and incorporating experts′ opinion into a Data Envelopment Analysis, will allow us to define a ranking of Italian regions in terms of ICT adoption and of e-service development. Data are obtained by merging four different surveys carried out by Between Co. (2010–2011) and Istat – Italy′s National Bureau of Statistics (2009). We add to extant empirical literature in three ways. First, we offer a comprehensive measurement of advances in digital government that is not circumscribed to a single domain (e.g. administrative procedures of public administrations) but is rather aimed to capture a wide spectrum of public e-services (e-government, e-education, Intelligent Transport Systems, e-health). Second, we tackle a major drawback of existing statistics and benchmarking studies which are largely based on the count of services provided online, by including more sophisticated indicators on the quality of services offered and on back office changes. The results – both in terms of scores and regional rankings – highlight the presence of different patterns of adoption and use of public e-services at the local level. Third, we offer a rich account of the extreme heterogeneity of public e-service development and of the underlying technological and organizational change at the sub-national level, and hence provide a basis for the differentiating policy measures across regions.     

Public policy and technical change in Latin American agriculture

The article analyses and interprets the modernization and technical change of Latin American agriculture over the past two decades. The innovation process is analysed through eight case studies of various products in a variety of countries and method of production. Through these empirical studies, the authors provide a general interpretation of technical change and the public policy process in Latin American agriculture.     

Promoting smart cities in developing countries: Policy insights from Vietnam

Smart city initiatives have been researched primarily in the developed country context. In developing countries, however, emerging technologies are enabling progress on urban functionality, productivity, and livability. A deeper understanding of facilitative policy conditions unique to developing countries would be useful to both theory and practice. This study presents empirically grounded insights about the policy implications of smart city development in developing countries, based on surveys of experts from the public and private sectors in 10 Vietnam cities. The study makes three contributions. First, it provides new evidence that pursuing smart city development (SCD) is not a mere alternative but a crucial strategic imperative. While facing persistent problems, Vietnam's cities exhibit significant and rapidly improving readiness for SCD. Second, the study provides new insights into related policy issues and challenges, including the positive link between e-government development and control of corruption, the risk of bias toward operational management over institutional reform, and the lack of a clear development strategy. Finally, the study proposes a model for guiding smart city initiatives in developing countries.     

Motivations and obstacles to university industry cooperation (UIC): a Mexican case

Within the context of linkage between universities and the productive sector in Mexico, this article seeks to answer the following questions: i) which are the principal motivations for researchers at universities to carry out technological research and to seek ties to industry? ii) which are the main motivations for industrial entrepreneurs to establish cooperation with universities to develop technology? and iii) which are the main barriers to a healthy relationship between both institutions? Our answers are based on data from two sources: (a) an exploratory survey of 31 researchers at the National University of Mexico and of 28 Mexican entrepreneurs, half of whom had previous experience in collaborative projects; and, (b) a subsequent panel discussion among questionnaire respondents designed to elicit in-depth qualitative data concerning motivations and obstacles to university-industry cooperation. The authors present the factors identified in the study as key elements in the development of liaisons between the two sectors in Latin American countries, and argue the need to rethink our conceptions of motivations and barriers within a theoretical framework of interinstitutional communications and organizational cultural change.     

Urban cassava markets: The impact of fresh root storage

The authors explain how although fresh cassava is important in rural nutrition, its importance in urban areas is limited and declining. In Colombia, the third most important cassava-producing country in Latin America, both the structure of the marketing channel and consumer preferences are considered in explaining this difference. The principal factor limiting urban market volume and demand is identified as the rapid root post-harvest deterioration which necessitates high margins to cover marketing risks. Appropriate storage techniques which overcome this problem are evaluated and their possible positive impact, through reduction of marketing margins, on retail and farmgate prices and on urban consumption is estimated. A strategy for storage technology adoption is discussed.     

Collaborative approaches to public sector innovation: A scoping study

In the last 15 years, European countries have invested considerable resources to provide e-government services. Despite of its increasing availability, its level of adoption has not been satisfying. On the other hand, over the last years, coinciding with the web 2.0 trend, the e-government services co-produced by citizens start to appear, often without the support, acknowledgement and even awareness of the government. This trend stems from a well-established tradition of offline co- production of public services, i.e. services provided by the voluntary sector, but brought to an unprecedented scale thanks to the advent of web 2.0. Still, the concept remains not well-defined and its impact is not yet well studied. The paper explores on a limited sets of cases what does it mean to collaboratively deliver online public services; what are the success factors based on the cases under study and what are the incentives for service providers (other than public administration), citizens as users and public administration. The authors propose an ostensive definition of the collaborative delivery of public services: collaborative public services are created and run by government, civil society or by private sector building on the re-use of government data or citizens data. Those services are focused on public goods delivery (e.g. health, education, public transport) and are meant to change the traditional government services by engaging in an open dialogue with public administration about the best way to deliver those services. The analysis of six case studies of innovative collaborative online public services suggests that the online collaborative public service delivery increases its quality with the users׳ growth contrary to the traditional offline service delivery. The study results indicate that the current developers interest lies in delivering complementary services to the government run services rather than substitutive services. The authors propose also the initial list of success factors, enabling conditions, and benefits for all main stakeholders (users, innovators and public administration).     

Impacts of the Broadband Initiatives Program on broadband adoption and home telework

This study investigates the impacts of the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP), established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009, on growth in broadband adoption and use of home telework. We find robust positive impacts across multiple econometric models and methods using census tract-level data in first differences. Across models and methods, the estimated average impact of BIP is in the range of 1.1–3.0 percentage point increase in the share of households adopting broadband and 0.2 to 0.4 percentage point increase in the share of workers using home telework. The estimated impacts of BIP represent roughly one-fourth to two-thirds of the average increase in broadband adoption and one-third to two-thirds of the average increase in home telework in the study tracts during the study period. The impacts of BIP vary across geographic contexts. Broadband and home telework adoption are also affected by prior levels of broadband availability, adoption, and telework, and by demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the population and the industrial structure of the economy.     

Upland rice: an underdeveloped crop of Latin America

Rice is a staple of the Latin American diet and one of the most widely cultivated crops in the region Although mention of rice calls to mind carefully tended plots of irrigated land, that is not the typical method of cultivation in Latin America Over 70% of the rice grown is of the upland type, providing more than 50% of total production.     

对拉美油气政治风险的几点评估

拉美地区油气投资环境复杂多变,虽然政治动荡风险小,但合同模式调整频繁。因资源开发引起的局部社会冲突时常发生,且社会治安形势不容乐观。资源国环保条款的透明性、监管到位程度、纠纷解决机制等,也是不可忽略的风险因素。拉美地区是世界上油气投资纠纷高发地区,多数与资源国政策变化有关。鉴于中国的原油需求和投资能力,拉美地区资源国普遍视中国为对外能源合作多元化的战略伙伴。但是,某些资源国国内政治对立、极端化,可能对中拉合作构成挑战。中拉油气合作应从战略高度看待,充分认识合作的长期性和复杂性,应在规避政治或政策周期风险的同时,加强对拉美地区全方位的能源外交。     

The impact of the Social Cash Transfer Scheme on food security in Malawi

The Malawi Social Cash Transfer Scheme (SCTS) was launched in 2006 to improve food security by directly providing cash transfers to the country’s most destitute households. Although government-implemented cash transfer schemes have gained popularity throughout Latin America, these schemes are just emerging in Africa. While where there is evidence of the beneficial impact of cash transfers on food security from Latin American countries, there is a dearth of evidence from resource poor countries in Africa.     

Price elasticity of demand for broadband: Evidence from Latin America and the Caribbean

In this study the authors analyze fixed broadband retail prices in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and provide estimates about the effect of price changes on broadband adoption. The analysis is based on a survey of plans and tariffs conducted by the authors during Q2 2010. Their results suggest that fixed broadband services in LAC are generally expensive and of poor quality when benchmarked against Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, although there is significant variance between markets in the region. In order to isolate the effect of prices on broadband adoption they use an instrumental-variable approach. Their findings show that broadband demand is relatively elastic to price in LAC but not in the OECD. They estimate that an average price reduction of 10% would result in an increase of almost 22% in the penetration rate in LAC, equivalent to almost 8.5 million additional broadband connections. Several policy implications result from these findings. First, national broadband policies in LAC should pay a closer attention to a deficit of competition in fixed broadband services, as households and firms face high prices for poor quality services, thus deterring adoption. Second, while their findings generally suggest that price reductions could significantly increase penetration, they elasticity estimates reveal that price effects might not be sufficient to achieve the penetration goals set in national broadband plans. This validates the need for complementary policy strategies that affect other determinants of broadband demand. The example of Brazil is used to illustrate this finding.     

黑龙江省政府信息资源开发与利用的问题及对策研究

随着信息技术的发展,政府拥有信息总量的80%,但是政府信息资源的利用率并不高。通过对黑龙江省政府信息资源开发与利用存在问题的剖析,提出知识型电子政务系统,为政府信息资源的充分利用提供一个通畅的信息平台。     

An overview of scholarly research on public e-services? A meta-analysis of the literature

Public e-services are a broad and growing research field in which scholars and practitioners from different domains are involved. However, the increasing attention devoted to public e-services only partially captures the extreme variety of aspects and implications of the diffusion of information and communication technologies at all levels of public administrations. The paper aims to develop a meta-analysis of the literature on the delivery, diffusion, adoption and impact of public e-services and examines differences in methodologies, approaches and key indicators across five service categories: e-government, e-education, e-health, Infomobility and e-procurement. We examined 751 articles appeared in 2000–2010 in the top international academic journals listed in the SSCI-ISI, as classified in the following fields: Communication, Economics, Education, Environmental Studies, Geography, Health Policy and Services, Information Science and Library Science, Law, Management, Planning and Development, Public Administration, Transportation and Urban Studies. We highlight a significant heterogeneity in scientific production across service categories, indicators used, and affiliation of authors. We also show an increasing diffusion of quantitative methods applied to different research fields which still appears to be constrained by data limitations. The overall picture emerging from the analysis is one characterized by largely unexplored domains as well as scarcely analyzed issues both across and within individual service categories. Thus many research opportunities seem to emerge and need to be exploited from different disciplinary perspectives in this field of analysis.