Is fixed-mobile substitution strong enough to de-regulate fixed voice telephony? Evidence from the Austrian markets

In this paper, we estimate own-price elasticities for fixed network voice telephony access and national calls services for private users as well as cross-price elasticities to mobile services using time series data from 2002 to 2007 from the Austrian markets. Using instrumental variable estimates and considering cointegration, we find that access is inelastic while calls are elastic. We conclude that the retail market for national calls of private users can probably be deregulated due to sufficient competitive pressure from mobile. Access-substitution on the other hand does not seem to be strong enough to justify de-regulation.     

Modelling time of day substitution using the second moments of demand

Time of day (TOD) rates are a commonly used method for peak load pricing of many services. Such services as; electricity, communications, transportation, shared computer facilities, and computer networks (i.e. the Internet), either use, or will use, some form of TOD pricing. However, TOD rates do not ensure a movement towards economic efficiency unless the patterns of TOD substitution are known. The model presented here provedes a method for estimating TOD substitution without the need for rate experiments that have proven to be both costly and limited by sample selection bias problems. This model employs the estimated second moment of demand to estimate a matrix of relative own- and cross-price elasticities and it can estimate elasticities even when there is no apparent TOD price variation. The low level of computations required for the estimates allows the application of a bootstrap procedure to estimate the covariance matrix of the elasticities. Two applications of this model are presented: a case of aggregate demand for computer services and a case of an individual household's electricity demand.     

The role of WiBro: Filling the gaps in mobile broadband technologies

This paper analyzes WiBro, one of the emerging wireless technologies for portable Internet services (PIS), which are designed to enable mobile broadband access. Based on an empirical examination of consumer preferences for mobile broadband technologies and an estimation of the future demand for WiBro, this study proposes that WiBro should fill the gaps between competing mobile broadband technologies, such as 3G and WLAN.     

Pricing Behavior on the WEB: Evidence from Online Travel Agencies

This paper extends the empirical results on online retailing by studyingprices for nearly homogenous services – holiday packages –matched across conventional and Internet channels. Controllingfor vertical product differentiation, there is no evidence for lowerprices and price dispersion advertised in the online medium ingeneral, as hypothesized by search theory. It therefore remainsan open issue whether Internet trade can be associated with amore competitive market structure than the conventional market.     

中国互联网企业发展模式探析——以腾讯为例

目前腾讯已成长为一家业务涉及即时通信、电子商务、在线支付、搜索引擎、信息安全以及游戏、视频、社交网络、电信增值服务等多种业务的互联网综合服务提供商,市值超过350亿美元,是全球市值仅次于谷歌和亚马逊的互联网公司。研究腾讯公司从单一到多元化发展模式得出,腾讯的成功归于以即时通讯为核心业务,机会导向中迅速发展、营销策略的灵活性、战略性与前瞻性并驱。     

服务创新轨道概念初探:兼评技术轨道的适用性

基于对技术轨道理论的评述,从服务自身的特性出发,对服务创新轨道的概念进行归纳分析,阐释服务创新轨道的内涵、特性,比较服务创新轨道与技术创新轨道的异同。结果显示:第一,解决因服务特性而产生的问题,是形成服务创新轨道的根本基础,这内在规定了服务创新活动的方向和路径;第二,市场、科技和制度环境等外部规定性要素,以及企业的战略和知识基础等,也对服务创新轨道的形成产生重要影响;第三,服务创新轨道的概念更为宽泛,与具有严格内在技术规定性的制造业技术轨道相比,服务创新轨道具有多样性、非排斥性、弱连续性等特性;第四,技术轨道理论只在一定程度上适用于服务创新,技术轨道是服务创新的一种可选轨道。     

泰国旅游的趋势分析——中国游客的案例

旅游业是泰国的经济支柱,而中国旅游市场在泰国旅游业中占有重要地位。泰国与中国之间建立旅游关系已经有二十多年的历史了。自泰中建交以来,大量中国游客都把泰国作为首选的旅游目的地。中国游客喜欢游泰国主要因为赴泰国旅游物超所值,具有质量保障,能带来舒适体验,且在文化上有认同感。未来在赴泰安全问题进一步被重视的基础上,＂零自费＂行程将会变成中国赴泰旅游的主流,免签后泰国或成新的境外热门购物地。     

Moderating effect of personal innovativeness on mobile-RFID services: Based on Warshaw's purchase intention model

As telecommunication market becomes more competitive and the customers' expectations regarding services or products increases, understanding customer or market needs is at the center of successful telecommunication business.In this study, we attempt to explore the intention of using mobile services based on the Warshaw's purchase intention model. We also focus on a personal innovativeness in the domain of IT (PIIT) because we assumed that as characteristics of telecommunication services become increasingly sophisticated, personal innovativeness could be a key factor of telecommunication services usage. In this study, we examine whether PIIT has the moderating effect on purchasing mobile-RFID services.The result shows that both purchasability and perceived need collectively explain purchase intention of mobile-RFID services, as well as PIIT serves to moderate the relationship between perceived need and purchase intention of mobile-RFID services. The study findings also indicate that IT knowledge, responsiveness to IT news and ability to use mobile phone of customers are positively related with PIIT.     

On estimating earnings functions for LDCs

A technique is developed for estimating earnings functions from data in which both wage-earners and self-employed persons are included; it is argued that the return to schooling is overestimated if only wage-earners are in the sample. A procedure for simultaneously imputing labor incomes to the self-employed is also developed and carried out with 1971 data for Bangkok, Thailand. The evidence suggests that ceteris paribus the self-employed have labor earnings at least as high as their wage-earning counterparts.     

Analysis on the growth of telecommunication services: a global comparison of diffusion patterns

With the development of the Internet, the telecommunication market has seen a rapid shift from voice-based services to data-based services. Relationships of substitutability and complementarity have emerged among communications technology services such as Internet service, mobile phone service and fixed telephone service. The article analyses the diffusion patterns of communication services in different continents. A modified logistic growth model is estimated using panel data for the years 1975–2004. The research forms a valuable framework for forecasting demand for new services based on the diffusion of incumbent services and can inform strategies for entering the communications network industry.     

The Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in the Business Services Industry

Abstract

This report aims to identify the determinant factors of FDI in the business services industry by examining 20 variables and their impacts on attracting foreign investment in 33 sample countries plus Hong Kong. The results of this study indicate that system-related factor conditions and demand conditions have a strong correlation to FDI. Among the variables under system-related factor conditions, four (bribery and corruption, transparency, intellectual property rights (IPR), and ease of doing business) greatly influence the amount of FDI in the business services industry. Among the variables under demand conditions, three (the cost of living index, office rent, and GDP) are key. At the same time, this paper concludes that the aforementioned factors influence not only the business services sector, but the manufacturing industry's FDI as well. Another main finding of this paper is that the FDI in the business services industry is more frequently found in more developed economies. For the market seeking and efficiency-seeking FDI, the quality of system-related factor conditions and the size of GDP are of particular importance for FDI in the business services industry.     

CHALLENGES FOR FRANCE IN THE EMERGING INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT: A DYNAMIC ANALYSIS

France faces substantial challenges as the economic integration of Europe and the international economy continues. This article uses a dynamic aggregate translog cost function with inputs of capital, labor, and imports to examine the likely impact of closer world economic ties on France. This technique allows one to estimate short- as well as long-run direct price elasticities of demand for the inputs and cross-price elasticities for each respective input pair. The findings of the article include that (1) the French economy is becoming more sensitive to changes in import prices and (2) all the inputs are substitutes for one another. These results suggest that continuing international economic integration will present substantial challenges to the French economy. The short-run estimates of direct and cross-price elasticities are consistent with the Le Châtelier principle, except for the cross-price elasticities between capital and labor. Some possible reasons for the latter result are discussed in the article. (JEL F14, O10, O12)     

Internet Economics and Policy: An Australian Perspective

Publicly available information indicates that the demand and supply of Internet and Internet–related services are continuing to expand at a rapid pace. Since 1997 the number of Internet service providers (facilities–based and resellers) has increased by nearly 40 per cent; the number of points–of–presence per Internet service provider has increased by five times; the number of hosts connected to the Internet has more than quadrupled; and Internet traffic has increased from six to 10 times. The emergence of electronic commerce (e–commerce), driven by this rapid adoption of Internet services and continual technological innovation, is likely to have profound economic and social impacts on Australian society. This paper provides a detailed analysis of the impact of the Internet and e–commerce, ranging from the changes in the market structure of the telecommunications industry, its role in changing the organisation of traditional markets, the emergence of new markets, and the structural shifts to employment, productivity and trade. The paper also analyses contemporary Australian regulatory responses.     

THE DEMAND FOR CIGARETTES IN TAIWAN: DOMESTIC VERSUS IMPORTED CIGARETTES

This paper uses annual time series data from Taiwan to empirically estimate the demand for cigarettes, in consideration of the import liberation of foreign cigarettes and of antismoking campaigns. The results indicate that the price elasticities for domestic and imported cigarettes are -0.6 and-1.1, respectively. The cross-price elasticities are 0.08 for domestic and 2.78 for imported cigarettes. The spread of cigarette health information has had a significantly negative effect on cigarette consumption. In addition, this study offers mild support to the argument that opening the market to imported cigarettes has resulted in significant increases in overall cigarette consumption. (JEL D12, 118)     

An estimation of the future demand for portable Internet service in Korea

Portable Internet service (PIS), which refers to wireless Internet service that can be accessed via a portable terminal at every time and at any place, is scheduled to be launched in Korea in early 2006. Thus, both the government and the industry need to obtain quantitative information on the future demand for the service. This study attempts to estimate future demand for the PIS, to analyze the determinants of the demand, and to conduct pre-test-market evaluation of the service. To this end, the dichotomous choice contingent valuation method is employed. On the whole, respondents accepted the contingent market and were willing to contribute a significant amount, on average. This willingness varies according to individual characteristics. Finally, the study discusses the importance of including valuation method in a pre-test-market evaluation of the PIS and presents the implications of the results, such as the mean willingness to pay (WTP) and the effects of individual characteristics and concerns about the service on the WTP.     

我国酒店业网上价格波动的供给面原因分析

网络技术的发展，互联网渗透到各行各业，与我们商业和生活密不可分，其中应用最为成功的一个领域是网上旅游市场。本文希望通过实证方法，对订房网站进行抽样调查，探索网上订房的报价和价格波动情况，度量波动程度，初步从供给面来探讨影响波动的原因。我们发现品牌（星级）、质量（房型）和经济环境（城市）对价格波动产生影响。     

Privacy and security concerns in online health services

There is a growing interest in Internet privacy and security concerns. This article investigates Internet privacy and security concerns to determine whether such concerns hinder online health service use under different policies that enhance privacy and security protection. Empirical findings show a negative association between online privacy and security concerns and the use of online health services. Regulations enhancing customers’ privacy and security moderate the negative relation.