We study an endogenous growth model where a profit-motivated R and D sector coexists with the introduction of free blueprints invented by philanthropists. These goods are priced at marginal cost, contrary to proprietary ones which are produced by a monopoly owned by the inventor. We show that...

This study is part of a long line of analyses in assessing the direct and indirect economic benefits of information and communications technologies, focused on the software industry rather than the overall ICT sector. To assess the software industry's general economic impact, we use the...

This paper discusses the relationship between the data economy and economic development and examines the benefits and challenges for emerging economies. In particular, it examines the market concentration and offers some reasoning for why we should expect that the data economy may end up...

This paper provides a basic understanding of the nature of emerging key information and communication technologies, and establishes the distance of countries from high-quality access to the internet - the necessary threshold one needs to cross in order to make use of such technologies. The paper...

A recently much debated issue is why observed investment and growth rates inpoor countries are lower than traditional theory predicts. Empirical evidencesuggests that social and political instability is a major reason for thedivergence between poor and rich countries. However, there is still the...

While the importance of institutions for explaining cross-country income differences is widely recognized, comparatively little is known about the origins of economic institutions. One strand of the literature emphasizes cultural differences while another points at exogenous environmental...