Surplus extraction by network providers: Implications for net neutrality and innovation

This paper looks at surplus extraction by network providers who control the medium of information transfer between application developers and consumers, and addresses the following questions: is net neutrality beneficial to society? and does providing network providers flexibility in pricing stunt innovation in the long run? To answer the first question, it looks at a market consisting of a monopoly network provider and two application providers with non-substitutable products, using a simple single period model. It shows that net neutrality is necessary to ensure maximal benefit to the society. To answer the second question, the paper shows that a monopoly network provider, if allowed complete flexibility in pricing, does not necessarily stunt innovation. Looking at a market that consists of one network provider and one application provider, and using a simple multi-period model, it shows that given maximum flexibility the network provider not only encourages innovation when the potential benefits are sufficiently high but also maximizes surplus. This paper takes the view that the topic of net neutrality is not only controversial but also complicated, and suggests that policy makers use a balanced approach based on sound analysis.     

Foodgrain price and trade policy in the Dominican Republic

As in many developing countries, the Dominican Republic has both an overvalued official foreign exchange rate and a policy of heavy government intervention in foodgrain markets. The Institute of Price Stabilization (INESPRE) controls the marketing, pricing and imports of the staple foodgrain, rice. INESPRE's operations and the overvalued currency produced an undervaluation of domestic rice production and an upward distortion of foodgrain imports. Additionally, the increasingly unfavourable rice-fertilizer price ratio has undoubtedly suppressed yields. As part of a set of austerity measures, the newly elected President banned rice imports. Dominican foodgrain policy may be at an important crossroads and a policy assessment is very timely.     

Factors of broadband development and the design of a strategic policy framework

The paper analyses the household use of broadband technology and services in EU countries in an attempt to find the main reasons which explain the differences seen among countries. With the use of factor analysis, the underlying factors are identified as: (1) enablers and means; (2) the use of services; and (3) the ICT sector's development. Based on these findings, a two-dimensional framework that enables the classification of policy actions depending on the influencing factor and type of influence is developed. The framework can be used to analyse what is the appropriate set of policies at the national and regional governmental levels leading towards the better diffusion of new broadband (BB) technologies and services.     

Innovation patterns and policy implications of ADSL penetration in Korea: A case study

Korea has been leading the world in broadband Internet access services since 1999. Based on an in-depth case analysis of the penetration of asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) in Korea, the present study explores the patterns of decision making and interactions among key innovation actors, such as the government, Internet service providers, equipment providers, and content providers, using a conceptual framework wherein models of innovation systems and decision making under uncertainty are combined. The results revealed that the Korean government played a pivotal role in the creation of the ADSL-based Internet service market by providing a strong vision for this emerging service, building a coalition among various key actors, and stimulating initial market needs and supply of necessary equipment during the early period of higher uncertainty. As the level of uncertainty decreased with market evolution, however, the role of industrial actors and their market competition became more important to the rapid growth of the ADSL market. Based on these findings, policy and managerial implications are proposed.     

质量管理与经济效益浅析——对石油物资供应质量管理经济性的思考

指出了石油物资供应部门,在对质量管理与经济效益关系的认识上,存在的单纯强调高质量水平和注重管理形式,缺乏对投入产出和质量体系有效性的综合经济分析的认识误区.提出了质量成本科目设置和运行等实施质量成本管理的具体设想.     

Public value mapping of network neutrality: Public values and net neutrality in Korea

Network neutrality (NN) is of broad and current interest despite its complex and multifaceted nature. This study examines NN in the Korean context in terms of policy, industry, values, and society. It addresses the policy effectiveness of ongoing NN discussions by analyzing user attitudes and perceptions. The proposed model empirically tests policy effectiveness through user perceptions by incorporating factors representative of NN. Possible NN factors are derived from the previous literature and perceptions of NN concepts. The results find that regulation and competition are two primary factors constituting network neutrality, and these factors differently influence the formation of attitudes toward policy effectiveness. Political and social implications are discussed based on the proposed model. This study provides comprehensive analysis and heuristic data on user drivers, industry dynamics, and policy implications in the NN ecosystem.     

Platforms,systems competition,and innovation: Reassessing the foundations of communications policy

Focusing on the effects of policy on investment and innovation this paper examines whether the conceptual foundations of sector regulation are aligned with the current technological and economic conditions of advanced communications. One conclusion is that the prevailing theories and practices are only adequate if the policy challenge can be reasonably approximated as a static or steady-state problem but they may have serious shortcomings if this is not possible. The article proceeds with a review and critical examination of two approaches that could augment or possibly replace the traditional approach under conditions of dynamic competition—the theory of platform markets and systems approaches. Both frameworks model aspects of competition in interconnected systems in more detail and offer novel insights to inform communications policy in an era of continuous change. Nonetheless, important theoretical and implementation gaps remain that will require additional efforts by researchers and practitioners.     

Agricultural policy reforms and food security in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan

This paper provides an overview of agricultural policy reforms and their impact on food security in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Owing to increasing hostility in regional trade among the countries of Central Asia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, like their neighbors, have chosen to follow a path of food self-sufficiency, which has biased their agricultural systems towards grain production. The paper finds that the land reforms in these two countries, which have dismantled the state farms, have resulted in reduced productivity of crops and declining food availability at the household level. It argues that reversing this trend will require increased investment in rural infrastructure and agricultural research to improve crop yields, and in the short-term, food security interventions to protect the poor and vulnerable.     

Policy implications of technology for detecting P2P and copyright violations

The effectiveness of many proposed policies regarding both online copyright protection and network neutrality depend on the extent to which it is technically possible to detect peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P), the transfer of copyrighted files, or both. There are many detection approaches, some performed primarily by network operators and some by application-layer agents. This paper describes capabilities, limitations, privacy issues, and policy implications of detection technologies and their countermeasures, in part through quantitative analysis of empirical data. Different approaches are better for different purposes. Network operators are well-positioned to estimate how widespread copyright violations are, but application-layer detection from outside entities has important advantages when the purpose is punishment. Detection is also imperfect, so policies should require more transparency regarding how it is done than we see today. It is shown that, although network operators may not detect every transfer, and they typically miss more video than audio, they can identify most individuals who share copyrighted files via P2P after several weeks of monitoring provided that traffic is unencrypted, which is useful for some purposes. However, it is also shown that encryption is already in use, and it effectively prevents network operators from detecting transfers of copyrighted content. Thus, if network operators are held responsible for monitoring illegal file sharing, there is a tension between using detection to identify violators of copyright law for punishment, which may motivate even greater use of encryption, and using detection for other purposes such as creating fair compensation schemes for copyright-holders, warning users that they may be violating copyright law, or allocating network resources. Alternatively, there are forms of detection that are not evaded through encryption, and application-layer agents rather than network operators are primarily responsible for these. These copyright policy issues are intertwined with network neutrality policy in subtle ways. Network neutrality rules do not protect illegal transfers of copyrighted content, but if network operators are responsible for enforcement (as in “graduated response”) then regulators must determine when it is reasonable to terminate or degrade service based on allegations of copyright violation given the limitations of detection technology to prove those allegations. Allegations of copyright violation should be considered invalid unless they are accompanied with information about how detection was performed and an opportunity for rebuttal. Such transparency has been routinely lacking in both laws and industry agreements.     

环渤海经济圈发展与挑战

环渤海、长三角、珠三角一直是中国经济中的亮点。但二十年来,环渤海地区一直没有形成紧密的经济联合体,距离真正的经济圈相去甚远。本文以区域经济理论为基础,分析了环渤海经济圈发展存在的问题,并且探讨了将来发展的方向。     

科学发展观与经济增长方式转变

从大多数国家的经济发展历史看,工业化从粗放型增长方式起步是一个共同现象.而“血拼”式竞争和政府直接参与的地区竞赛成为20多年来中国经济发展的两大显著特点.从“十五”到“十一五”时期,最大的思想进步就是：认识到仅仅在一般的调节手段和政策设计上进行调整,是不足以实现经济增长方式的根本改变的.必须进行发展观念上的深刻反思,以科学发展观统领和指导经济和社会发展.因此,是否能通过树立科学发展观来改变社会价值观,改变竞争和商业文明的基本理念,就成为能否实现经济增长方式转变的关键.十几亿人口参与的工业化对资源的大量消耗和对环境的巨大影响是一个极大的人类难题.转变增长方式,以资源节约和环境友好的可持续方式推进中国工业化,才能实现中国经济和社会的现代化.而能否真正实现经济增长方式的转变,取决于能否在科学发展观指导下实现理论、技术、制度和管理的不断创新.     

分散发供电与联网供电的经济性研究

简要介绍了新型分散发电技术,综合比较分散发电和联网供电的可靠性和经济性,并探讨了分散发电对现有电力系统的影响。     

Standards,innovation, and latecomer economic development: Conceptual issues and policy challenges

Little is known about the impact of standards on the economic development of countries which are latecomers to industrial manufacturing and innovation. Standardization is regarded primarily as a technical issue, and hence receives only limited high-level policy support.However, technical standards contribute at least as much as patents to economic growth. As a key mechanism for the diffusion of technological knowledge and due to the dominant leadership by advanced countries in patenting, technical standards have emerged in latecomer countries as an alternative to patenting. However, latecomer countries and their firms have a set of capabilities and constraints that are fundamentally different from that of advanced countries and firms. This paper argues that latecomer countries should adopt assessment criteria that are more fitted with latecomer contexts which emphasize learning effects and building dynamic capabilities. The paper discusses current issues that are essential in understanding the rise of Asian countries in standardization. We also examine the critical role that patents play for standardization and argue that “strategic patenting” to generate rents from de facto industry standards can stifle latecomer economic development.     

Different paths to universal access: The impact of policy and regulation on broadband diffusion in the developed and developing worlds

The authors examine the broadband digital divide by analyzing the impact of policy and regulation on broadband Internet diffusion. Their multiple regression analysis shows factors that determine broadband diffusion in technologically developed countries do not necessarily have the same impact in less developed countries. They show that in technologically developed countries, there is greater broadband diffusion in countries that make a higher financial investment in information and communication technologies (ICTs), have effective governing practices at the national level, have higher levels of education, and are more urban. In technologically developing nations, a competitive telecommunications sector and higher investment in ICTs lead to greater broadband diffusion, with investment having an even larger impact in the developing world than in the developed world. In addition, stronger democratic political institutions, higher levels of national income and lower levels of income inequality increase diffusion, but the presence of a national telecommunications regulatory authority has a negative impact. These results suggest that the path to widespread availability and use of broadband requires different strategies depending on a nation's level of technological development.     

Economic and policy implications of spectrum license fee payment methods

This paper argues that “Do auctions raise consumer prices?” is a misleading question. License fee payment methods, rather than spectrum assignment methods, are key factors that bring forth different market outcomes in the wireless telecommunication industry. This paper analyzes and discusses the effects of three spectrum license fee payment methods—upfront lump-sum fees, royalties, and profit sharing—on economic efficiency, spectrum supply, and government revenue. Royalties create distortions in product and factor markets but can induce the government to increase spectrum supply and encourage firms’ investments. A caveat is that the analyses are based on the model assuming monopoly market and information certainty.     

自主创新与创新政策研究的新进展——中国工业经济学会2006年年会学术观点综述

本文对中国工业经济学会2006年年会暨自主创新与创新政策研讨会的主要学术观点进行了综述，涉及创新理论、技术创新、企业组织与创新、产业组织与创新、区域经济发展与创新、创新政策研究、创新案例研究等前沿内容．反映了当前产业经济学研究中关于自主创新与创新政策的新进展。     

Economic environment and agricultural development: The importance of macroeconomic policy

This article explores the ways in which the macroeconomic balance of the economy, and related policies, impinge on agriculture in developing countries, and considers implications for the design of policies. It argues that the extent of macroeconomic balance, and the quality of the policies influencing that balance, to a large extent define the scope for effective agricultural policies. The avoidance of severe balance-of-payments deficits and rapid inflation are seen as a necessary condition for the promotion of agricultural growth. They also have an important influence on the nature and range of agricultural policy options available to governments.