| 1. |
- Al-Hammadany, Firas H., et al.
(författare)
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Determinants of Internet Use in Iraq
- 2009
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The Internet is considered to be today's most advanced technology and a key to progress of communication and exchange of information, goods, services and technologies. Since its introduction during the late 1960s, the Internet has led to the creation of opportunities and conditions of development both for the developed and developing nations around the globe. Not all nations though welcome this particular tool of world connection. Iraq is facing huge challenges in increasing Internet penetration and usage and changing the traditional way of communication. However, this is a difficult task as there are many factors that define this transition process. This issue and more shall be better presented in this study. Through the use of a suitable approach, this study aims to explain the determinants of Internet use in Iraq. The results indicate that while the people of Iraq are eager to adopt this technology in order to reach out to the world, a number of factors like lack of adequate resources, insufficient incentives and encouragement from the government and some social inhibitions are not allowing this technology to become a public domain.
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| 2. |
- Al-mutawkkil, A., et al.
(författare)
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Development of telecommunication and broadcasting infrastructure indices at the global level
- 2009
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Ingår i: Telecommunications Policy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0308-5961 .- 1879-3258. ; 33:3-4, s. 176-199
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The importance of information and communication technology (ICT) in economic development has been increasing rapidly along with the Internet and mobile telecommunication networks. ICT development is becoming a main growth factor of many countries. As they realize the importance of the ICT industry, developing nations work to catch up with established economies. Therefore, many nations are formulating an ICT-enhanced policy. This paper introduces a number of telecommunication and broadcasting sub-indices, which include the fixed telephone network, the Internet, and mobile networks, which are aggregated into a composite Telecommunication Index (TI). The indices are computed using principal component analysis and human development type index methods. The country rankings, by different ICT-related indices, help identify the strengths and weaknesses of infrastructure development such that each country can foster economic growth. The performance of TI is compared with several other indices, such as the digital access, human development, and ArCo technology indices. The type of indices affects the country ratings. Results suggest that the parametric index approach may be preferred over those methods in which the subjective weighted summation of normalized variables used (non-parametric indices). Crown Copyright © 2009.
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| 3. |
- Aoun, D., et al.
(författare)
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International diversification, capital structure and cost of capital : Evidence from ICT firms listed at NASDAQ
- 2008
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Ingår i: Applied Financial Economics. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0960-3107 .- 1466-4305. ; 18:12, s. 1021-1032
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study, we intend to examine the information and communication technology (ICT) firms from a financial perspective. The relationship between capital structure and cost of capital (COC) is investigated in a simultaneous equation framework. On the one hand, we relate international diversification to the firm’s capital structure, and on the other, we test their individual and collective inferences on the combined debt and equity COC. We expect a negative correlation between international diversification and higher total and long-term debt ratios, and a reduction in the overall COC.
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| 4. |
- Bhandari, A. K., et al.
(författare)
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Labour use and its adjustment in Indian manufacturing Industries
- 2005
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Ingår i: Global Economic Review. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1226-508X .- 1744-3873. ; 34:3, s. 261-290
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study provides an empirical investigation of the adjustment process of labour in Indian manufacturing industries, which evolved through structural transformation in the era of globalization. The analysis is based on a dynamic model applied to a panel of 22 two-digit manufacturing industries for the time period of 22 years covering 1980/1981 to 2001/2002. It is assumed that as competition increases industries adjust their employment to a desired level which is both industry and time specific. The results indicate that the manufacturing sector has shown a considerable dynamism in adjusting its workforce. The long-run labour demand responds greatest to the output, followed by capital and least by wages. It is observed that Indian manufacturing is not inefficient in labour use as modest speed of adjustment has led employment size closer to the optimal level. ©2005 Institute of East and West Studies, Yonsei University, Seoul.
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| 5. |
- Bhandari, Amit Kumar, et al.
(författare)
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Wage Inequality and Job Insecurity Among Permanent and Contract Workers in India: Evidence from Organized Manufacturing Industries
- 2008
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Ingår i: The ICFAI Journal of Applied Economics. - 0972-6861. ; 7:1, s. 80-111
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Since the early 1990s, the employment structure of organized manufacturing industries in India has undergone substantial changes with steep rise in the use of contract workers in place of permanent workers. This process has led to increased wage inequality, discrimination as well as concern of job insecurity in the labor market. The paper focuses on wage inequality between permanent and contract workers, since contract workers earn substantially lower wages than their counterparts. The study uses data at the individual level from a recent labor survey of organized manufacturing industries in the India. The lower wage earned by contract workers is largely due to cost cutting, rather than differences in labor productivity. The issue of job insecurity has been modeled in the form of a binary logistic model. The factors affecting job security are divided into productivity-related attributes such as level of education and skill, and institutional attributes such as labor market rules and regulations and union membership. Contrary to the general expectation, the study finds that permanent workers are more concerned regarding job insecurity than the contract workers.
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| 6. |
- Bhandari, Amit Kumar, et al.
(författare)
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Willingness to Pay for Biodiversity Conservation
- 2009
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Nature based tourism is the fastest growing tourism in many parts of the world. The attitude towards conservation of nature is measured by individuals' willingness to pay. This study has made an attempt to investigate the determinants of tourists' willingness to pay (WTP) for biodiversity conservation. The determinants include a combination of socio-economic and site-specific characteristics of tourists. The study was conducted in Sikkim, which is India's prime nature based tourism destination. Results show that willingness to pay is determined by the level of education and income of tourists. Among site-specific characteristics length of stay and number of spots are the significant determinants of willingness to pay. This empirical research is a valuable input to identify market segment among tourists, which might help to generate more revenue for biodiversity conservation in Sikkim.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Färe, R., et al.
(författare)
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Measurement of productivity and quality in non-marketable services. With application to schools
- 2006
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Ingår i: Quality Assurance in Education. - : Emerald. - 0968-4883 .- 1758-7662. ; 14:1, s. 21-36
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose - This paper seeks to model and compute productivity, including a measure of quality, of a service which does not have marketable outputs - namely public education at the micro level. This application is a case study for Sweden public schools. Design/methodology/approach - A Malmquist productivity index is employed which allows for multiple outputs or outcomes such as test results and promotions without requiring price data with which to aggregate these outputs. It also allows one to account for inputs such as teachers and facilities as well as proxies for quality of the inputs (e.g. experience of teachers) and outputs. This model generalizes the basic data envelopment analysis (DEA) models - used successfully to measure performance in many educational applications - to the intertemporal case. A way of computing quality and quantity components of overall productivity is employed. Findings - The case study is an application to the Swedish primary and secondary school system over the 1992 to 1995 period. It was found that quality "matters", i.e. productivity growth changes when one accounts for quantity. Research limitations/implications - The data available implied that the specification is restricted to an intermediate production model, i.e. the output data only account for the intermediate outcomes of education like grades and promotions, but not the longer term outcomes related to success in the job market or higher education, which one proposed as a task for future research. Originality/value - The indices which are computed at the micro level are of value for policy purposes (does investment in quality matter?) and in an evaluation context. ©Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
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| 9. |
- Gholami, R., et al.
(författare)
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The causal relationship between information and communication technology and foreign direct investment
- 2006
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Ingår i: The World Economy. - : Wiley. - 0378-5920 .- 1467-9701. ; 29:1, s. 43-62
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper investigates the simultaneous causal relationship between investments in information and communication technology (ICT) and flows of foreign direct investment (FDI), with reference to its implications on economic growth. For the empirical analysis we use data from 23 major countries with heterogeneous economic development for the period 1976-99. Our causality test results suggest that there is a causal relationship from ICT to FDI in developed countries, which means that a higher level of ICT investment leads to an increase inflow of FDI. ICT may contribute to economic growth indirectly by attracting more FDI. Contrarily, we could not find significant causality from ICT to FDI in developing countries. Instead, we have partial evidence of opposite causality relationship: the inflow of FDI causes further increases in ICT investment and production capacity. ©United Nations University 2006.
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| 10. |
- Haouas, I., et al.
(författare)
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The impacts of trade liberalization on employment and wages in Tunisian industries
- 2005
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Ingår i: Journal of International Development. - : Wiley. - 0954-1748 .- 1099-1328. ; 17:4, s. 527-551
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper investigates short and long-run effects of trade liberalization on employment and wages. Employment and wage equations are estimated using data (1971-96) for importable and exportable industrial sectors in Tunisia. Causality tests show that causality is unidirectional. Wages strongly causes employment. There is significant difference in the direction of effects in the short and long-run. Empirical results only support the short-run theoretical predictions for the exportable sectors. A possible reason for the divergence of theory and practice is that the theoretical model is premised on the basis of a fixed supply of labour. Employment at exportable sectors could therefore only rise if employment at importable fell. However, as we have seen, the supply of labour increased dramatically in Tunisia as women entered the labour market. This allowed employment at importable sectors to be maintained as the exportable sector expanded. Copyright ©2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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