To identify the determinants of cross-country disparities in personal computer and Internet penetration, we examine a panel of 161 countries over the 1999-2001 period. Our candidate variables include economic variables (income per capita, years of schooling, illiteracy, trade openness),...

This volume was prepared by Constantin Mang while he was working at the Ifo Institute. It was completed in 2014 and accepted as a doctoral thesis by the Department of Economics at the University of Munich. It includes a short introduction and four self-contained chapters that focus on ICT...

The introduction of a new product generation forces incumbents in network industries to rebuild their installed base to maintain an advantage over potential entrants. We study if backward compatibility can help moderate this process of rebuilding an installed base. Using a structural model of...

Although many countries are aggressively implementing the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) program, there is a lack of empirical evidence on its effects. This paper presents the impact of the first large-scale randomized evaluation of the OLPC program, using data collected after 15 months of...

The rapid development and diffusion of the information and communications technology (ICT) is the major driving force of the New Economy. While there is ample evidence to suggest that the ICT industry has contributed a great deal to the overall economic growth of the developed countries, its...

Die Bewertung der Innovationsfähigkeit von Regionen hat vor dem Hintergrund des verschärften regionalen Wettbewerbs um Fördermittel an Bedeutung gewonnen. Zur Bestimmung des regionalen Innovationspotentials werden oftmals einfach zu erhebende Indikatoren wie die Anzahl der Patentanmeldungen...

Der Klimawandel, verschiedene Krankheiten oder demografische Veränderungen wie alternde Bevölkerung in den OECD-Staaten stellen globale gesellschaftliche Herausforderungen dar, auf die alle Länder Antworten suchen. Forschung und Innovation können wesentliche Beiträge zur Bewältigung dieser...