Explaining changes in the racial digital divide in the United States from 1997 to 2007

This paper explores the dissemination of access to home Internet among Whites and Blacks in the US, the inequalities observed between the groups (known as the digital divide), the trends exhibited by the two groups in the acquisition of Internet access, and the factors contributing to these disparities. The study focuses on the large and growing digital divide observed among Whites and Blacks in the period 1997–2007. Both the standard and a variant of the Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition techniques are employed to identify and quantify the factors that contribute to this gap. In all decompositions, differences in education, family income, household composition, and access to the Internet outside the home are found to be the primary factors that explain the racial digital gap.     

Narrowing the gender digital divide in Pakistan: Mobile phone ownership and female labor force participation

The unprecedented growth in access to mobile phones and smartphones has opened up new possibilities in the way people live and work. However, women in developing countries are unable to take advantage of this growth due to certain factors and socio-cultural norms that give rise to the gender digital divide. In this study, using the nationally representative Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey (2019–2020), we investigate the gender and rural–urban (female) digital divide in a country with one of the most considerable digital divides. Furthermore, we employ an instrumental variable approach to study the effect of mobile or smartphone ownership on female labor force participation. The results indicate that institutional and sociocultural norms explain most of the ownership gap of mobile or smartphones between men and women. The instrumental variable approach demonstrates that mobile or smartphone ownership increases the participation of women in the labor force. We also find that the differences between observable characteristics, especially literacy and education, explain the rural–urban digital divide among females. Considering the importance of mobile or smartphone ownership in facilitating women's labor supply decisions, providing women with digital tools and upskilling them has wider implications for their economic well-being.     

From the relative to the absolute digital divide in developing countries

This paper argues that the literature on the digital divide is based heavily on relative rather than absolute magnitudes, although the latter has more welfare significance. It is clear that the former concept has been falling sharply in recent years yet such calculations have not been made for the absolute divide. One contribution of this paper is to redress this gap in the literature for both mobile phones and the Internet using a sample of more than sixty countries. The results tend to be broadly consistent with findings from the literature on the adoption and diffusion of IT in developing countries generally and Africa in particular.     

The end of the internet rush

The concept of natural growth in competition is being exploited to produce forecasts for the use of Internet worldwide. Population trends and Internet-user trends indicate that the percentage of the population using the Internet is slowing down everywhere despite large discrepancies: 68% in the US, 45% in Europe, and 8% in the rest of the world. Whereas new growth phases with slow rates of growth should be expected from the third world, the boom years of Internet explosion are over. Significant growth in the use of Internet in the rest of the world must await for a couple of decades.     

Resource use in patients hospitalized with complicated skin and soft tissue infections in Europe and analysis of vulnerable groups: the REACH study

Background:

Hospitalized patients with complicated skin and soft tissue infections (cSSTI) present a substantial economic burden, and resource use can vary according to the presence of comorbidities, choice of antibiotic agent, and the requirement for initial treatment modification. REACH (NCT01293435) was a retrospective, observational study aimed at collecting empirical data on current (year 2010–2011) management strategies of cSSTI in 10 European countries.

Methods:

Patients (n?=?1995) were aged ≥18 years, hospitalized with a cSSTI and receiving intravenous antibiotics. Data, collected via electronic Case Report Forms, detailed patient characteristics, medical history, disease characteristics, microbiological diagnosis, disease course and outcomes, treatments before and during hospitalization, and health resource consumption.

Results:

For the analysis population, mean length of hospital stay (including duration of hospitalizations for patients with recurrences) was 18.5 days (median 12.0). Increased length of hospital stay was found for patients with comorbidities vs those without (mean?=?19.9; [median?=?14.0] days vs 13.3 [median?=?8.0] days), for patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus compared with patients with methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (mean?=?27.7 [median?=?19.5] days vs 18.4 [median?=?13.0] days) and for patients requiring surgery (mean?=?24.4 [median?=?16.0] days vs 15.0 [median?=?11.0] days). Patients requiring modification of their initial antibiotic treatment had an associated increase in mean length of hospital stay of 10.9 days (median?=?6.5) and additional associated hospital resource use. A multivariate analysis confirmed the association of nosocomial infections, comorbidities, directed treatment, recurrent infections, diabetes, recent surgery, and older age (≥65 years), with longer hospital stay.

Conclusions:

This study provides real-life data on factors that are expected to impact length of hospital stay, to guide clinical decision-making to improve outcomes, and reduce resource use in patients with cSSTI.     

Female leadership,internet use,and performance of agricultural cooperatives in Vietnam

Supporting agricultural cooperatives might contribute to the livelihood improvement of many small-scale farmers in developing countries. This research examines the factors affecting the internet use of agricultural cooperatives with a focus on female leadership, its effects on cooperatives’ economic, social, and innovative performance, and the distributional effects of internet use on economic performance. Our analysis relied on the data of 3,512 agricultural cooperatives collected in 2021 from Vietnam. We addressed the endogeneity issue of internet use in impact assessment by employing an instrumental variable approach. Our results show that female leadership was positively and significantly associated with internet use and that internet use had a positive and significant effect on returns on assets, returns on equity, labor productivity, payment per laborer, contribution to labor union and insurance per laborer, and innovation in products of agricultural cooperatives. In addition, unconditional quantile regressions show that internet use in agricultural cooperatives exacerbated income inequality. Enhancing female leadership and promoting rural education were recommended to improve agricultural cooperatives’ performance.     

Internet use and consumption diversity: Evidence from rural China

The Internet is integral to modern living. While the Internet is ubiquitous in China's urban areas, its uptake is still lagging in the country's rural regions—the development potential of the Internet remains untapped, and despite China's steep economic growth during the 21st century, the living standards in its rural regions remain low. The Internet can accelerate rural development in China. This study is focused on analyzing whether and to what extent Internet use affects consumption diversity, an indicator of the quality of life, in rural China. To this end, we employ the instrumental-variable-based two-stage endogenous treatment regression model to analyze the 2018 China Family Panel Studies survey data. The modeling approach allows us to account for the endogeneity of Internet use. The results show that consumption diversity is positively associated with Internet use. Furthermore, it rises with household income, household size, and wealth. Whether the Internet is accessed via smartphones or computers has no bearing on household consumption diversity. We also find that education, household income, and wealth increase one's predicted probability of using the Internet. The results also point to regional differences in consumption diversity and the likelihood of using the Internet.     

Finding the right employee online: determinants of internet recruitment in Spanish firms

This paper analyses the variation of recruitment strategies in Spanish firms, with special emphasis on the Internet. Using data from the Spanish Labour Trends Survey for the period 2001–2011, we study the factors influencing the decision to use online recruitment and explore the differences between Internet and eight traditional recruitment channels. Our results show that the adoption of the Internet monotonically increases over the sample period, when Internet becomes more universal and even in periods with excess of applicants. Large firms operating in information-intensive activities, and located in regions more developed and with better infrastructures are more likely to search for new employees online. We also find that Internet and traditional recruitment methods follow different patterns, especially when using personal referrals and public employment services. Our results suggest the presence of network externalities derived from the increase number of compatible online job seekers.     

Energy taxation in Southern Europe: The case of Portugal

We investigate whether or not the imposition of a common EC energy-tax will penalize more the poorer Southern European economies and if this will harm convergence at the EC level. We start by surveying briefly the existing studies and empirical evidence. Then we exploit the results obtained when using the macroeconometric HERMES models to simulate the introduction of an energy-tax. Unfortunately, as we only have HERMES results for one Southern European economy, Portugal, our conclusions are limited. Finally, we investigate convergence in Europe and the effects of energy taxation on convergence. We conclude that energy taxation will harm growth all over the EC, penalizing more one of the less developed countries, Portugal, and having most probably adverse effects on convergence.This paper was prepared for presentation at the Conference Energy Tax in Europe organized jointly by the SEO-University of Amsterdam and the DG XII of the CEC and held in Amsterdam on 13th December 1991. I would like to thank the participants in the Conference and two anonymous referees for helpful comments. Of course, the usual disclaimer applies.     

Regulating coexistence in Europe: Beware of the domino-effect!

In the literature spatial coexistence of genetically modified (GM) and non-GM crops is often regarded as a technical challenge, depending on spatial pollen dispersal and cross-pollination, temporal and spatial distribution and interaction of crops, separation distances and practical measures, but the interaction between economic incentives and costs of coexistence is poorly studied. Europe is currently struggling to implement coherent coexistence regulations in all EU Member States. Since the publication of the European Commission's guidelines in 2003, some Member States have developed, and others are still developing, a diversity of ex ante regulations and ex post liability rules on the coexistence of GM and non-GM crops. In this article, our attention is drawn to ex ante regulations. More specifically, we polarize two alternative ways of regulating spatial coexistence, i.e. rigid minimum distance rules, imposed on GM crop production, versus flexible segregation measures such as buffer zones, leaving more freedom of negotiation between neighboring farmers. We conduct simulations with the software ArcView® on a GIS dataset of a hypothetical case of GM herbicide tolerant oilseed rape cultivation in Central France. Our findings show that rigid coexistence rules, such as large distance requirements, may impose a severe burden on GM crop production in Europe. These rules are not proportional to the farmers' basic economic incentives for coexistence and hence not consistent with the objectives of the European Commission. More alarming, we show that in densely planted areas a domino-effect may occur, a theoretical possibility ignored in the literature. This effect raises coexistence costs and even adds to the non-proportionality of rigid coexistence regulations. Instead, we show that flexible measures would be preferable since they are proportional to the economic incentives for coexistence and, hence, less counterproductive for European agriculture.     

Values,institutions and the rise of Eastern Europe

We study the convergence of output per capita in a sample of 37 European countries to the German real GDP per capita level during the period 1999–2014 with the aim of testing whether the speed of convergence is uniform or depends on institutions, such as membership of the European Union, the euro, or values. The results suggest that the post‐communist economies are converging more rapidly than other countries in the sample and more so the closer they are integrated into the European Union. Moreover, we find that certain values are conducive to the catching up process and that it has generated increased job satisfaction and male labour force participation.     

Environmental Liability and Privatization in Central and Eastern Europe: Toward an Optimal Policy

It has been estimated that the costs of remediating contaminated sites in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) will be very high. These contingent environmental liabilities have emerged precisely at the time CEE countries are attempting to privatize their capital stocks, creating major challenges for privatization agencies. It is also generally agreed that an inadequate handling of these liabilities in the past has reduced sales of state-owned enterprises in Central and Eastern Europe.This paper uses an analytical model to identify optimal policies for minimizing the damage to privatization processes from environmental liabilities. Policy simulations are conducted which evaluate the effects of the use of liability indemnifications and environmental audits on privatization sales, prices and government revenues net of environmental costs. The major finding of the paper is that goals to mitigate the effects of environmental liability on privatizations and maximize government net revenues from privatization sales require equivalent environmental liability policies. Both goals require optimal provision of information and indemnifications to investors, and moreover it is found that the two policies are complementary rather than substitutes.     

Working-time reduction and employment: experiences in Europe and economic policy recommendations

The paper seeks to evaluate the evidence on the employment effectsof the collective working-time reductions in Europe over thepast 20 years. While theoretical analyses produce contradictoryassessments, most empirical studies show positive employmenteffects but take insufficient account of these conditions underwhich the reductions in working time were implemented. Theseconditions for the success of collective working-time reductionsinclude an active training policy designed to minimise skillshortages in the labour market, the modernisation of work organisation,wage increases in conjunction with productivity gains and amore equal income distribution.     

中东欧经济转型的成就与挑战

文章对中东欧经济转型进行了回顾,指出了中东欧经济转型的特点。在此基础上,文章分析了中东欧经济转型的成就,强调中东欧国家在建立市场经济体制和经济发展上取得了重大进展。与此同时,目前遭受全球金融危机冲击的中东欧国家也面临着许多挑战,需要推动许多领域,特别是社会领域的改革。     

A note on the trade potential of Central and Eastern Europe

This paper discusses the results of recent studies which use the so-called ‘gravity’ approach to predict the potential volume and direction of the trade of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). It also examines how the trade of the former socialist economies have evolved following external liberalization. It then compares the predictions made using the PPP based estimates of GDP for 1989 with actual 1992 trade data and the corrected predictions based on actual 1992 GDP figures. The results indicate that the CEE trade responded very quickly to the new regime and being redirected away from CMEA and towards EU markets. CEE's actual trade patterns do not now considerably differ from that of similar Western European countries. Moreover, the projection based on the data of 1992 do not indicate any remaining unused CEE trade potential.     

Explaining participation in the undeclared economy in Central and Eastern Europe: a demand-side approach

To explain participation in the undeclared economy, the conventional supply-side approach evaluates the reasons people work in this sphere. This article, for the first time in Central and Eastern Europe, explains the undeclared economy using a demand-side approach which evaluates citizens’ motives for purchasing undeclared goods and services. Here, three potential explanations for purchasing undeclared goods and services, grounded in rational economic actor, social actor and institutional imperfections theoretical perspectives, are evaluated. Reporting data from 11,131 face-to-face interviews conducted in 11 Central and Eastern European countries in 2013, the main finding is that all three explanations are used by consumers, demonstrating the need for a synthesis of these approaches. A multinomial regression analysis identifies the specific groups variously using the undeclared economy to obtain a lower price, for social or redistributive rationales, or due to formal institutional imperfections. The implications for theorising and tackling the undeclared economy are then explored.     

Bridging the gap in creative economy and ICT research: a regional analysis in Europe

ABSTRACT

Following Florida’s seminal work on the ‘creative class’ there is a great deal of interest concerning whether creativity, as an input, is important for regional growth. Answering this question requires developing a production framework that can distinguish creativity from other inputs. With data from Europe, this paper integrates the concept of information and communications technology (ICT) and the creative class into a theoretical production function. Findings reveal that not only is there a positive and interactive relationship between creative workers and ICT, but the combination of creative workers and ICT leads to higher levels of GVA growth. Moreover, creative workers were found to have a larger impact on growth in comparison with traditional human capital measures (i.e. graduates). Thus, findings from this research suggest that the creative class should not only pay attention to socio-economic preferences of individuals, but it must include wider social resources, such as ICT.     

Transforming radiology's workplace: Roentgen marries up with the digital world of IT and the Internet

Driven by technological developments in both medical imaging and information technology (IT), various institutional, demographic, and economic factors are making the teleradiology model increasingly attractive relative to the traditional radiology model that has been in place for the most part since medical imaging began. The emergence of teleradiology in the medical imaging industry is transforming the way radiologists do their work, and this paper shows why and how this is occurring. It further identifies a variety of issues that have arisen or are arising and their possible resolutions as radiologists engage in integrating their professional work with the new and novel settings (including radiology on-line) that recent developments in combining imaging and information technologies are creating.     

Creating Markets for Air Pollution Control in Europe and the USA

This paper surveys recent efforts to relax the rigid regulatory frameworks for air pollution control in Europe and the USA. European policies have mainly taken the form of bubbles and compensation or offset schemes. Emission trading has been limited to intra-firm solutions for various reasons: industry structure, absence of real scarcity, and too restrictive trading rules. Bubbles have been granted to homogenous sectors only and can be characterized as direct regulation for a group rather than tradable permit systems. By contrast, the sulphur allowance program in the USA has laid down the foundation for a pollution permit market with few formal restrictions. Problems that arise are mainly related to local environmental and public utility controls. Europe can learn from the USA that regular national permit markets could be installed, preferably for homogenous sectors. In designing the permit system, the differences between the USA and Europe in terms of ecosystem sensitivity, stringency of regulation and differentiation of regional environmental policy have to be taken into account.