Access to ICT in rural and urban Thailand

This paper addresses the information and communication technology adoption decisions of Thai households. The findings suggest that household composition, education, wealth, and occupation are key factors determining information and communication technology adoption. The rural–urban gap of mobile phone adoption was negligible in 2009 after controlling for household characteristics, while the gaps for other information and communication technologies have persisted. Having a family member migrate to work elsewhere significantly increases the likelihood of mobile phone adoption.     

Uncertainty of public pay phone in Thailand: Implications for the universal service obligation

Public pay telephones are fast becoming technological dinosaurs headed quickly toward extinction. In Thailand, however, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has included the public pay phone as part of the Universal Service Obligation (USO) to ensure that all people in the country have reasonable access to a standard telephone service on request, and that payphones are accessible to all people on an equitable basis, wherever they live or carry on business. In spite of this, however, public pay phones and their revenue are also sharply declining due to the ever increasing encroachment of mobile phone technology. The researcher therefore undertook a study to empirically examine the key determinant factors for individual consumers using public payphones. A discrete choice model is employed together with the analysis of data from a 2011 national survey commissioned by the NBTC. Payphone usage is determined by the ownership of fixed phones, mobile phones and income which all play an important role with payphone being a necessary service for low-income people. Hence, NBTC should continue support through the USO fund and reassess the areas and groups of people who need this service in order to ensure that the USO policy is effectively and beneficially implemented.     

我国对RCEP成员国ICT产品出口的贸易效率及潜力研究北大核心

区域全面经济伙伴关系协定(RCEP)的签署,标志着全球规模最大的自由贸易协定正式达成,这对我国实现疫后经济复苏以及新一轮高水平对外开放具有重要意义。本文采用随机前沿分析方法,对2005~2020年我国对RCEP成员国出口信息通信技术(ICT)产品的出口贸易效率及潜力进行了实证分析。结果表明,我国对RCEP成员国ICT产品的出口贸易效率虽逐年上升但整体偏低,并且不同产品的贸易效率存在较大差异;成员国的制度质量、基础设施和受教育水平等因素均对贸易效率的提升产生显著积极影响。据此,应在政策沟通的基础上,区域联动加快互联网等基础设施建设,注重人力资本的积累,为进一步拓展我国ICT产品出口空间营造良好的环境。     

Learning to labour: an evaluation of internships and employability in the ICT sector

The employability of graduates is often reduced to lists of de‐contextualised skills that graduates may or may not have and which may or may not translate to prized graduate positions. Recently, internships have become the way in which graduates acquire and demonstrate work‐readiness to potential employers. This article examines a particular type of internship in the ICT sector, namely placements incorporated in degree education. The findings suggest that while internships can enhance employability and indeed be a mechanism for accessing permanent jobs, more often, instead of ‘learning to labour’, interns are expected to be productive workers. A mini labour market operates at the undergraduate level that advantages those already possessed of the required soft skills. The emphasis on soft skills signals a shift in the nature of ICT work with attendant implications for education of workers in this sector, revealed by anchoring employability to particular labour process(es).     

ICT technologies in Europe: A study of technological diffusion and economic growth under network theory

The sector of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is one of the key instruments for the development of an economy. The literature emphasizes its capacity for both increasing productivity and generating new sources of income and wealth (5 and 20 among others). Traditionally studies on the ICT sector have focused on the analysis of its economic impact, but not on its capacity as a “bridge” for information and knowledge flows across the economic network. Following Burt's approach (1992) on structural holes, the organization of the economic network defines where and for whom new opportunities lie. The structural hole methodology allows to analyze the capacity of the ICT sector as an enabler of technological diffusion and innovation. The results show that the European ICT sector not only is important for its intermediary role in the flow of information across the economic network, but also for its low level of dependency on other sectors.