ISBN: 3540002863
TITLE: Internet, Economic Growth and Globalization
AUTHOR: Welfens et al.
TOC:

Introduction 1
Claude E. Barfield, Gnter Heiduk and Paul J.J. Welfens
A. Telecommunications, Internet, Innovation and Growth in Europe 9
Paul J.J. Welfens and Andre Jungmittag
1. Telecommunications, Internet and Transatlantic Growth
Differentials 9
1.1 Telecommunications and the Internet 9
1.2 Telecommunications and Technological Dynamics 10
1.3 Taking Stock: Transatlantic Growth Differential 13
2. Theoretical Analysis 17
2.1 ICT Dynamics and Growth 17
2.2 Perspectives on Inflation and Growth 29
3. Innovation, ICT Dynamics and Growth: Theoretical and Empirical Aspects 33
3.1 Basic Theoretical Issues 33
3.2 Empirical Links Between Innovations and Output 36
3.3 ICT as a General Purpose Technology? 40
4. The Role of Telecommunications and the Internet for Trade and Growth 41
4.1 Telecommunications, Innovation and Economic Growth in Germany 1960-1990 41
4.2 Growth and Employment Effects of an Internet Flat Rate in Germany 44
4.3 Telecommunications and Foreign Trade 48
5. Some Long-Term Aspects 51
Appendix: Methodological Issues in Growth Statistics 54
B. Is the IT Revolution Possible in Japan? 67
Yukio Noguchi
1. Introduction 67
2. The Present State of IT Utilization in Japan 68
3. The Government IT Policy 7 1
4. Social Factors Prevent the IT Revolution 73
5. The Traditional Companies Still Dominate the Economy 75
6. The Reform of the 1940 System 77
Annex: Tables 80
C. The Internet and Evolving Patterns of International Trade 85
Caroline L. Freund and Diana Weinhold
1. Introduction 85
2. Brief Review of a Theoretical Framework for Empirical Tests 86
3. Specification of the Gravity Equation of Trade 87
4. Data 88
5. Discussion of the Results 90
6. Sensitivity Analysis and Alternative Explanations 99
7. Conclusions 101
D. Internet Dynamics, Trade and Globalization (Some Comments on the paper by Caroline L. Freund and Diana Weinhold) 105
Thomas Cries
1. General Comments 105
2. Comments on "Internet Increased Trade" 105
3. Comments on "Internet Distance Trade" 106
E. Internet and Culture 109
Marieke de Mooij
1. The Convergence Thesis 109
2. Meta-Analysis of Consumption and Consumer Behaviour 111
3. Hofstede's Dimensions of National Culture 113
4. With Increased Wealth Cultural Values Become Manifest 114
5. Culture and Consumption 114
6. Convergence-Divergence: A Pattern 115
7. Communication Technology: Increasing Influence of Culture 120
8. The Communication Means of the New Economy 122
9. The Internet in Europe 124
10. Business Application 127
11. Conclusions 128
F. E-Commerce: A Paradise for Bargain Hunters? 131
Christiane Jcker
G. E-Finance: Causing Major Upheavals in the Spatial Organization of the Financial Sector? 135
Nicole Pohl
1. E-Finance: Technological Revolution, Paradigm Shift or Hype? 135
2. The Role of International Financial Centers 137
3. New Technological Developments and the Role of E-Finance 139
3.1 Online Banking 141
3.2 Investment Houses: Traditional, Online or Hybrid 141
3.3 Alternative Trading Systems and the Competition Between Floor Trading and Electronic Trading 142
3.4 Cooperation and Alliances of Stock Exchanges 143
3.5 Implications for International Financial Centers: Expectations and Perceptions 144
4. Financial Centers as Information and Interaction Centers 146
4.1 Delineating the Argument 146
4.2 Open Questions 150
5. Further Reasons for Agglomeration: Labor Markets and Institutions 157
5.1 Labor Markets 157
5.2 Institutions 159
6. Information Strategies and the Special Characteristics of Centers 159
7. Conclusion 161
Appendix: Tables 164
H. E-Finance: Causing Major Upheavals in the Spatial Organization of the Financial Sector? (Some Comments on Paper by Nicole Pohl) 171
Thomas P. Gehrig
1. Introduction 171
2. What Does Theory Tell Us? 172
3. What Do Empirical Observations Tell Us? 173
4. How Does the Internet Affect Spatial Financial Activities? 175
I. How Will the Internet Change the Japanese Financial Perspective? 179
Mariko Fujii
1. Introduction 179
2. Current State of the Development of Electronic Financial Services in Japan 179
2.1 Securities Businesses on the Internet 180
2.2 E-Banking 182
2.3 Challenges to the Development of Electronic Financial Transactions 186
2.3.1 Internet Access 186
2.3.2 System Security 186
2.3.3 Growth Potential for Online Brokers 187
3. Impacts of Electronic Financial Transactions on Market Structure 189
3.1 Direct Effects: Transaction Costs 189
3.2 Possibility of Changing Market Structure: Cooperation and Competition 190
4. Policy Implications and Concluding Remarks 192
4.1 Policy Challenges 192
4.2 Implications for the Banking Business 193
J. How Will the Internet Change the Japanese Financial Perspective? (Some Comments on Paper by Marico Fujii) 195
Christian Thygesen
K. Internet Dynamics and Expansion of European Financial Markets: Issues from a Behavioral Finance Perspective 199
Matthias Bank
1. Introduction 199
2. Recent Trends in the Internet and the Internet Economy 200
3. The Expansion of the European Financial Markets 202
3.1 European Financial Markets as a Source of Risk Capital for SMEs 202
3.2 Mergers, Acquisitions and Corporate Debt Markets 207
4. An Assessment of the Recent Developments 208
4.1 Shortcomings in the Valuation of Internet-Related Firms 209
4.2 The Behavioral Finance Approach (BFA) 211
4.3 A Behavioral Finance Interpretation for the Internet Bubble 212
5. Conclusions 213
Competition in Telecommunications and Internet Services: A Dynamic Perspective 217
Gnter Knieps
1. The Internet as the Prime Driver of Convergence of the Telecommunications, Media and Information Technology (IT) Sectors 217
2. Internet Periphery Versus Internet Service Provision 218
3. Access to the Internet 220
4. Internet Backbones 223
4.1 Long Distance Network Capacity (Communications Bandwidth) 224
4.2 Internet Backbone Services 224
4.3 Organization of Interconnectivity: Transit and Peering 224
M. Persistence of Monopolistic Bottlenecks in Telecommunications and Internet Services (Some Comments on a Paper by Gnter Knieps) 229
Torsten J. Gerpott
1. Summary of Key Conclusions of Knieps 229
2. Availability of Competing (Internet) Access Technologies 230
3. Competitive Intensity on the German (Internet) Backbone Bandwidth Market 231
N. Regulatory Economics and the Internet 235
Friedhelm Dommermuth and Christoph Mertens
1. Introduction 235
2. Market Trends and the Importance of the Internet 235
2.1 Importance of the Internet 235
2.2 Development of Internet Usage / Development of Broadband Internet 236
2.3 Internet Service Provider Trends 237
2.4 Convergence 238
3. RegTP Determinations 238
3.1 Wholesale Metered Access for ISPs 238
3.2 Wholesale Unmetered Internet Access 239
3.3 DSL 240
3.4 Line Sharing 240
3.5 Internet Telephony 241
4. Impact of the Internet on the PSTN/ISDN 243
5. Questions Arising from Regulatory Practice and Emerging Trends 245
5.1 Should RegTP Regulate the Internet? 245
5.2 Is Regulation of the Wholesale Service Enough? 246
5.3 Regulatory Implications 246
6. Conclusion 248
O. The Regulation, Deregulation, and Nonregulation of Telecommunications and the Internet in the United States 249
Donald K. Stockdale
1. Background and Overview 249
1.1 Antitrust versus Regulation: A Two-Pronged Approach to Regulating Firms 249
1.2 Reconsidering Industry-Specific Regulation 250
2. Regulation and Deregulation of Telecommunications 251
2.1 The Communications Act of 1934 251
2.2 The Introduction of Competition into the Long-Distance Market 253
2.2.1 Opening the Long-Distance Market to Competition 253
2.2.2 Regulatory Responses to the Introduction of Competition 254
2.3 The Introduction of Competition into Local Telephone Markets 260
2.3.1 The Local Competition Provisions 260
2.3.2 Deregulation 263
3. The Non-Regulation of Enhanced Services and the Internet 265
3.1 The Non-Regulation of Enhanced Services 265
3.2 The Non-Regulation of the Internet 268
4. Summary and Conclusions 269
P. Deregulation of Telecommunications and Non-Regulation of the Internet in Japan 275
Koichiro Agata
1. Introduction 275
2. Actors on the Internet Market 275
3. Deregulation of Telecommunications in Japan 277
3.1 Concrete Actors 277
3.2 Stages of the Telecommunications Deregulation 277
3.3 Further Discussions and Reforms 279
4. Non-regulation of Internet Content in Japan 280
4.1 Concrete Actors 280
4.2 Process of Discussions 281
4.3 Pending Issues 282
5. Perspectives 285
Q. Electronic Commerce and the Gats Negotiations 289
Claude E. Barfield
1. Introduction 289
2. Classification 289
3. Taxation 292
4. Scope: Modes of Supply 293
5. E-Commerce: The Impact of Regulation 297
5. Intellectual Property Issues 300
6. Privacy & Security 302
R. Electronic Commerce and the GATS Negotiations (Some Comments on a Paper by Claude E. Barfield) 305
Harald Sander
1. Introduction 305
2. Issues in E-Commerce and Trade 306
3. Towards an Informed Debate on E-Commerce 308
S. The Internet and Society 311
William H. Dutton
1. Technological Determinism and Conflicting Visions of the Internet 311
2. Limitations of the "Social Impacts of ICTs" Approach 312
2.1 An Over-simplified View of the Processes Determining Societal Outcomes 312
2.2 Narrowness of the "Information Age" Thesis 313
2.3 Bias Towards Long-term Analyses of Staged Development 314
2.4 Failure to Acknowledge that Technology is Intrinsically Social 314
3. The Internet and Society: The Crucial Role of Tele-Access 315
3.1 "Communicative Power" and the Politics of Information 315
3.2 Key Dimensions of Tele-Access 315
3.3 Social Factors Shaping Choices and their Implications for Access 316
4. Encompassing Studies of Influence, Control and Management 317
4.1 Influence and the Mass Media 317
4.2 Technology, Expertise, and Social Control 318
4.3 Management Strategies Related to ICT Use 319
5. The Interaction of Strategies within a Broader Ecology of Games 319
T. The Internet and Society (Some Comments on Paper by William II. Dutton) 323
Guenter Heiduk
U. Knowledge, Work Organisation and Economic Growth 327
Elena Arnal Wooseok Ok and Raymond Torres
1. Introduction 327
2. The Changing Nature of Work 328
2.1 The Diffusion of New Work Practices and New Forms of Work 328
2.1.1 How Prevalent are New Work Practices Among Firms? 329
2.1.2 Telework: An Emerging Form of Work 33 1
2.2 A Higher Demand for Knowledge-Intensive Employment 334
2.2.1 Emerging Labour and Skill Shortages 335
2.2.2 A Shift Towards Knowledge-Intensive Employment 336
2.3 Employee Tenure: Overall Stability Which Masks Important Underlying Changes 341
3. New Work Practices, Skills and Economic Growth 346
3.1 New Work Practices and Growth 347
3.1.1 Findings form the Existing Literature 348
3.1.2 Empirical Evidence 349
3.2 Links Between Skills and Economic Growth 355
4. Policy Issues 358
4.1 Mobilising Labour Supply 358
4.2 Equipping Workers with the Appropriate Skills 359
4.2.1 Education in New Technology 360
4.2.2 Vocational and on the-Job Training 361
4.2.3 Looking at Migration in a New Light 364
4.3 Enhancing Employment Adjustment: the Role of Collective Bargaining and Government Regulation 365
5. Concluding Remarks 369
Annex I: Survey on New Work Practices Used in the Study 371
Annex II: Tables 372
V. The Quest for Global Leadership in the Internet Age: A European Perspective (Luncheon Speech) 377
Sigmar Mosdorf
List of Fires 381
List of Tables 383
List of Contributors 387
END
