Publication: The Internet as a General-Purpose Technology : Firm-Level Evidence from Around the World
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2015-02
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2015-02-13
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This paper uses firm-level data to assess whether telecommunication services are general-purpose technologies (technologies that benefit a large segment of the economy and have long-lasting effect). It finds that only Internet services are so: firm growth and productivity are much higher when Internet access is greater and when firms use the Internet more intensively; and Internet access benefits firms in high- and low-tech industries, firms of all sizes, and exporter and non-exporter firms. Small firms appear to benefit more from the Internet than large firms do. In contrast, fixed-line and cellular services are not robustly linked to firm performance.
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“Clarke, George R.G.; Qiang, Christine Zhenwei; Xu, Lixin Colin. 2015. The Internet as a General-Purpose Technology : Firm-Level Evidence from Around the World. Policy Research Working Paper;No. 7192. © http://hdl.handle.net/10986/21449 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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