Do ICTs drive wealth inequality? Evidence from a dynamic panel analysis

Surprisingly, little is known about the cross-country effect of information and communication technology (ICT) on wealth inequality. At the same time, there is some tentative evidence suggesting that information and communication technology is positively correlated with income inequality. However, whether and how ICT affects wealth inequality is less explored, particularly because of the lack of reliable data on wealth inequality. This paper, therefore, fills this gap and contributes to this new literature by investigating the effect of ICT on wealth inequality in a sample of 45 developed and developing countries over the period 2000–2017. ICT is measured with six different indicators (including internet penetration, mobile penetration, ICT service exports, the ICT index, ICT quality, and ICT quantity), while wealth inequality is measured with three different indicators (comprising billionaire wealth to GDP, the Top 1% wealth share, and the Top 10% wealth share). The empirical analysis is based on the Generalised Method of Moments, and the results show that ICT increases wealth inequality. Furthermore, we show that democracy mitigates the increasing effect of ICT on wealth inequality. This result suggests that improving democracy in both developed and developing countries is an effective mechanism for mitigating the effects of ICT on wealth inequality. Therefore, we encourage efforts to implement democratic institutions that ensure respect for citizens' freedoms, greater democratic accountability, and executive constraints that allow for a more egalitarian distribution of wealth.     

Governance and social media in African countries: An empirical investigation

This study assesses linkages between social media and governance dynamics in 49 African countries for the year 2012. The empirical evidence is based on ordinary least squares and quantile regressions. Ten bundled and unbundled governance dynamics are used, notably: (i) political governance (entailing “voice & accountability” and political stability/no violence); (ii) economic governance (involving regulation quality and government effectiveness); (iii) institutional governance (comprising the rule of law and corruption-control) and (iv) general governance (entailing political, economic and institutional governance). Social media is measured with Facebook penetration. The findings show that Facebook penetration is positively associated with governance dynamics and these positive nexuses differ in terms of significance and magnitude of significance throughout the conditional distribution of the governance dynamics.     

我国民营企业转型升级的政府作用研究——基于政府行为视角的实证分析

将政府行为细化为政府效能、监管质量、法律规则和腐败控制四个变量,并对民营企业转型升级的相关指标进行量化处理,建立了衡量我国民营企业转型升级的综合指标,对政府行为对民营企业转型升级的影响进行了量化分析,得出以下结论：政府效能、监管质量和法律规则是影响民营企业转型升级的重要影响因素;政府效能与民营企业转型升级呈现正相关关系,政府效能越高,越有利于民营企业转型升级;监管质量对民营企业转型升级的影响较为显著,监管质量越高,越有助于民营企业转型升级;法律法规对于民营企业转型升级具有重要的影响作用,法律法规的执行力度越大,越有利于民营企业的转型升级;腐败控制与民营企业转型升级尽管也呈现一定的正相关关系,但并不很显著,这表明腐败控制的效果并没有直接反映为促进民营企业转型升级的重要因素.     

Room for improvement: Why Korea's leading ICT ODA program has failed to combat corruption

In the past decade Korea has become the world's top provider of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) aid to developing countries. E-government reforms helped Korea cut domestic corruption, and research has established a clear causal relationship between ICT, E-government, and lower corruption. GMM dynamic panel data analysis indicates, however, that Korean ICT aid has in fact exacerbated corruption in recipient nations. ICT ODA from Canada and the U.K., the second and third largest national donors, however, successfully reduced recipient corruption levels. Why? The characteristics of recipients targeted by each respective donor and key differences in national ODA program goals and management systems explain the results. Tobit regressions reveal that economic and security motives led Korea to favor recipients that were poorer and more authoritarian with inferior governance institutions, traits which fixed and random effect regressions show lower E-governments effectiveness against corruption. Canada and the U.K. primarily succeeded by designating good governance as a core ODA goal and by pioneering Results Based Management systems to realize program objectives. They established clear goals, linked them to quantifiable indicators, independently evaluated the results and transparently released that information to the public. Good governance was not at the center of the Korean aid program which failed to establish clear targets, credibly measure results or release information, providing fertile ground for graft, like the Choi Soon-shil scandal, to infect the program. To improve ICT ODA effectiveness against corruption, therefore, Korea must elevate good governance as a core aid objective, accelerate introduction of RBM reforms to increase effectiveness, and direct more aid to recipients with greater civil liberties in which leaders are motivated to effectively employ ICT ODA against corruption.     

Moving beyond dichotomy: Comparing composite telecommunications regulatory governance indices

Despite an apparent consensus about the importance of the quality of telecommunications regulatory agencies, there is no agreement among researchers about how to measure it. While dichotomous coding of de jure independence has served as a proxy to measure whether an agency's regulatory governance is transparent, non-arbitrary, and free from political influence, we view measuring multiple components of regulatory governance including incorporating measures of regulatory independence into a composite index as providing a more nuanced understanding of facilitating or inhibiting factors. This paper compares composite telecommunications regulatory independence indices and regulatory governance indices available in the literature in order to construct more parsimonious indices. Using a methodology labeled “qualitative meta-synthesis” based on synthesizing previously published indices, we construct six different indices using combinations of 32 different variables, and different weights. Data from the OECD database are used to re-create the five original indices from the literature as well as our own six composites. Some of these indices (original and composites) were found to be negatively correlated with independent measures of regulatory governance such as the World Bank's Government Effectiveness Index and the Rule of Law Index; this may be attributable to the fact that countries, and especially those with poor overall governance standards, may need to put in place stronger telecommunications governance institutions in order to attract telecommunications investment to the country. The analysis suggests that a parsimonious index of as few as seven variables is capable of measuring the quality of telecommunications governance in a country, at the same time making the selection of variables and their weighting in the index more systematic than in previously available indices.     

The impact of regional ICT development on job quality of the employee in China

The paper matches the province-level ICT development with the micro-level data of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), uses multiple indicators to measure ICT development and job quality, and investigates the impact of regional ICT development on job quality of the employee. The research conclusions are as follows: First of all, ICT development has a significant positive impact on job quality of the employee. After a series of robustness tests and dealing with endogeneity issues, the research conclusion continues to be valid. Second, when the job quality of the employee is poor, the promotion of ICT development is relatively strong. Third, ICT development has an indirect impact on job quality through the Internet awareness. Finally, ICT development has a relatively strong role in promoting job quality of women, older, non-agricultural, and medium-skill employees. From the policy perspective, in order to improve the job quality of the employee, we suggest promoting ICT development, narrowing the digital gap, increasing investment in education, and taking into account the different characteristics of employees.     

Effects of relational ties paradox on financial and non-financial consequences of servitization: Roles of organizational flexibility and improvisation

Drawing from relational governance and dynamic capabilities literature streams, we develop a conceptual model in which business and political ties are antecedents of organizational flexibility, which in turn are related to organizational improvisation and, ultimately, financial and non-financial firm performance. We test our model using a data collected from 302 Turkish senior managers. We find positive direct and indirect impacts of business ties on organizational improvisation, and negative direct and indirect impacts of political ties on organizational improvisation. We find organizational improvisation significantly related to several indicators of firm performance. Our results provide clarity on relational governance and firm performance. The intermediate variables of organizational flexibility and improvisation shed light on equivocal findings regarding the effects of business and political ties on firm performance.     

Evolution and determinants of digital divide in Brazil (2005–2013)

During the last decades, the widespread growth of information and communication technologies (ICT) has posed incentives to broaden the participation of individuals in social, political and economic dimensions of life. However, utilization of ICT also involves access to technology and infrastructure, and acquisition of skills to deal with innovations and, thus, digital literacy is, primarily, a complementary good. The digital divide expresses inequalities in access and utilization of ICT among individuals and populations in different countries. The study adopts inequalities indexes of Internet access and mobile phone ownership to measure use of ICT goods, accounting for the digital divide in Brazil. The inequality indexes are also split according to main determinants using four nationally representative survey data from 2005 to 2013. Results indicate that the digital divide among individuals is decreasing quite fast among Brazilians over time. However, there is room for policies of mass access to ICT goods based on mobile Internet broadband access. In addition, digital illiteracy, evaluated by lack of education, is one of the main determinants of the digital divide in the country, especially among elderly individuals.     

基于经济发展与民主进步之间关系的理论研究

经济发展会促进民主进程。在经济学边际效用递减规律的基础上,提出了经济发展和民主进步关系曲线图,即G—D曲线图。经济结构、政治制度、传统文化的差畀,决定了民众对民主边际需求不同,一个国家经济发展程度有相对应的合理的民主认可率（DAR值）区间。从中国和美国的G—D曲线对比分析中,可以看出美国指责中国的民主与人权问题时,理想化地把中国的DAR值提至高位,忽视了中国的实际国情。     

Innovative Work Practices,Information Technologies,and Working Conditions: Evidence for France

We investigate the impact of new work practices and information and communication technologies (ICT) on working conditions in France. We use a unique French dataset providing information on individual workers for the year 1998. New work practices include the use of quality norms, job rotation, collective discussions on work organization, and work time flexibility. Working conditions are captured by occupational injuries as well as indicators of mental strain. We find that individuals working under the new practices face greater mental strain than individuals who do not. They also face a higher probability of work injuries, at least for benign ones. In contrast, our results suggest that ICT contribute to make the workplace more cooperative and to reduce occupational risks and injuries.     

Shareholder influence over director nomination via proxy access: Implications for agency conflict and stakeholder value

Corporate governance research indicates that corporate boards of directors may be overly beholden to management, which can be detrimental to firm value creation. Drawing upon agency theory and the governance law literature, we examine the effects of a new SEC rule designed to lessen managerial power by increasing large, long-term shareholders' influence in the director nomination process. We predict and find support for a positive overall market reaction to the rule's announcement as well as a greater reaction for firms with characteristics that suggest compromised board independence or greater CEO control. Moreover, we examine the implications of greater shareholder voice for another key stakeholder group, firm bondholders, and find evidence that it is also value increasing. We conclude by discussing important implications for theory and practice. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relationship governance for very different partners: The corporation-nonprofit case

Organizations increasingly form relationships with partners that have goals, values or operating cultures different to their own. These relationships have significant potential to generate innovative products or services and increase opportunities for service delivery. While they can provide greater access to resources, infrastructure or stakeholders, they can struggle with collaboration. Such partnerships may also encounter differences in the role of governance mechanisms such as trust and commitment. Only limited research however has addressed the governance implications of such relationships. We compared managers' perspectives on relationship governance mechanisms for 267 nonprofits and 276 corporations involved in corporate-nonprofit relationships. We found that ‘fit’ - compatibility and complementarity - was important to performance in such relationships. We found also however that nonprofits valued the role of trust in these relationships significantly more than corporations. Our findings suggest potential for significant success in these types of relationships but also possible complications from differences of opinion as to how they should be governed. While relationships between very different partners can succeed, they should remain cognizant of differences in each partner's expectations for relationship governance and its role in relationship performance.     

Exploring the structural effects of the ICT sector in the Greek economy: A quantitative approach based on input-output and network analysis

The aim of this paper is to present a quantification approach for the calculation of the ICT sector's structural effects in the economy, focusing on the case of Greece. We construct a composite sector using a hypothetical extraction methodology based on the most recent Greek input-output table and structural business statistics at the national level. Our framework builds on the formal definition of the ICT sector provided by OECD and includes two distinct sub-components, ICT manufacturing and ICT services. In the second stage of this study, we explore the production linkages among ICT services, ICT manufacturing and the rest of the Greek industries using input-output-based and network analysis-based metrics that build on the intermediate transactions of an expanded input-output table of the Greek economy that includes the two sectors. Our empirical findings suggest that the total ICT sector has a major contribution to the Greek economy in terms of GDP and employment, but this is driven mainly by the ICT services component. We further identify that ICT services are more integrated in the Greek production network compared to ICT manufacturing, but their production linkages are underperforming in terms of meaningful contribution to the activity of the rest of the sectors. These results reflect the low integration of digital technologies and can be further embedded in a discussion on the ICT deficiencies of the Greek economy and the need for targeted regulatory and financial interventions.     

预算信息公开是提高财政透明度的重要途径

一个民主的、负责任的、有能力的、高效率的、透明的政府对经济社会全面的可持续发展具有举足轻重的地位。政府预算作为整个财政工作的核心和财政政策的主要工具,预算信息更是对整个预算过程预算管理的重要的载体。预算信息的公开可以强化政府的公共受托责任、推进依法治国与国际标准接轨,以及转变政府执政理念,提高公民参与公共治理的积极性,是提高财政透明度和实现善治必要途径。     

An index for cross-country analysis of ICT infrastructure and access

The purpose of the present article is to devise an index for measuring and analyzing the divide among countries in the area of information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure and access. Understanding the fact that there are many factors influencing the digital divide, this research is not intended to measure the digital divide in terms of different inequalities, but it rather attempts to take only one of the most important of these factors (maybe the most important of them) into consideration for measuring and analyzing divide between countries, that is, ICT infrastructure and access. In contrast to the majority of the indices in this context, the proposed index is built upon defining and conceptualizing ICT infrastructure and access. In addition, the index uses core ICT indicators on which the international community and experienced modelers have consensus that they measure the information society suitably. Therefore, the index can be exploited as the basis and standard for internationally comparable statistics in ICT infrastructure and access area. Moreover, it is the second index based on core ICT indicators after the Digital Opportunity Index (DOI) that was developed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 2005. However, in the current article, using Data Mining methods, Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) (to impute missing data) and Multi-Stage Factor Analysis (FA) (for aggregating the indicators), many problems and limits of the existing indices, the DOI in particular, such as the lack of data for analyzing ICT infrastructure and access, use of equal weighting or experts’ opinions to aggregate the indicators, are avoided. Since this index is developed by statistical procedures, it is flexible, adaptable, and modifiable over time while it sustains its original structure. It is comprised of two main dimensions: ‘ICT access’ and ‘coverage of mobile and access tariffs’ and 10 indicators. Finally, comparing the proposed index with the other indices in this field and gross national income (GNI) per capita of 150 countries, this index is tested; then, it is utilized to measure and analyze the divide between countries in the two dimensions, different geographical areas, economic conditions, and levels of ICT infrastructure and access.     

Characterizing and comparing the evolution of the major global economies in information and communication technologies

In this paper, we characterise and compare status and evolution of the ICT industry of the six major global economies in ICT: China, the EU, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the USA. For this, we employ official data covering the period 2006–2009. Our analysis shows that although the EU is the largest economy of the world, it is the least ICT-specialised economy of all six major ICT economies. The USA is clearly the top global player in ICT in many respects. In both ICT Manufacturing and ICT Services it has the largest Value Added, BERD, BERD intensity and labour productivity. We further observe that China has, by far, the largest number of employees in both ICT Manufacturing and Services, while its level of ICT BERD remains low. China is however an emerging economy and economic indicators of its ICT sector have strongly grown from 2006 to 2009. Japan׳s ICT sector has a larger weight in the national economy than those of the USA, EU, and China. Moreover, it is the country from which the highest number of ICT patent applications originate. We also find that, of all six major global economies in ICT, Taiwan and Korea have the most ICT-specialised economies, with a strong orientation towards Manufacturing. Finally, we discuss selected results of our analysis and conclude the paper with tentative policy implications for the EU.     

The Political Effects of Accounting Normalization on Trade Unions: An Analysis of Financial Transparency Reform in France

The law of 20 August 2008 reformed the representativeness of French unions by imposing an obligation for ‘financial transparency’. Building on exploratory research, we address the question of the organizational and political effects of the new regulation, which point to a traditional debate in union democracy studies: how do administrative and representative rationalities combine within trade union organizations? Drawing on interviews with union leaders and finance officers at various levels in three major labour confederations (CGT, CFDT and CGT‐FO), we describe the different ways unionists have received the new accounting requirements and translated them into organizational practices and norms. Going beyond the traditional theses of compatibility and colonization, we make use of the body of work in critical legal and management studies to develop an endogenous approach of the relationships between trade unions and accounting management.     

Financial development,ICT diffusion and economic growth: Lessons from MENA region

This paper aims to test jointly two economic puzzles: the effect of financial development and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on economic growth. Theories predict a positive effect of financial development and ICT on growth but empirical studies on these relationships produced mixed results. Further, we investigate the interaction between financial development and ICT Diffusion to test whether the impact of financial development on growth is strengthened by better ICT infrastructure. In this paper we assess empirically these relationships in some MENA countries. The empirical study is based on estimation of a dynamic panel model with system GMM estimators. There are three main findings. First, our empirical results join empirical literature that find a negative direct effect of financial development on economic growth. This ambiguous relationship may be linked to many phenomenons but there are not yet clear explanations of this puzzle. Second, the estimates reveal a positive and significant direct effect of ICT proxies on economic growth. This implies that MENA countries need to reinforce their ICT policies and improve using of new Information and Communication Technology. Finally, the interaction between ICT penetration and financial development is found positive and significant in the growth regression. This implies that economies in Mena region can benefit from financial development only once a threshold of ICT development is reached.     

Third-party certification in the global agrifood system

Recently, third-party certification (TPC) has emerged as a significant regulatory mechanism in the global agrifood system. It reflects a broader shift from public to private governance. Traditionally, government agencies were responsible for monitoring food safety and quality standards. However, the globalization of the agrifood system, the consolidation of the food retail industry, and the rise in private retailer standards have precipitated a shift in responsibility for this task to third-party certifiers. This development is reconfiguring social, political, and economic relations throughout the contemporary agrifood system. In discussing the rise of TPC, this paper focuses on the role and implications for three key stakeholder groups: supermarket chains, producers, and non-governmental organizations. We conclude that TPC reflects the growing power of supermarkets to regulate the global agrifood system. At the same time, TPC also offers opportunities to create alternative practices that are more socially and environmentally sustainable.