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The "Peter Pan Syndrome" in Emerging Markets: The Productivity-Transparency Tradeoff in IT Adoption

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Abstract

Firms make investments in technology to increase productivity. But in emerging markets, where a culture of informality is widespread, information technology (IT) investments leading to greater transparency can impose a cost through higher taxes and need for regulatory compliance. This tendency of firms to avoid productivity-enhancing technologies and remain small to avoid transparency has been dubbed the "Peter Pan Syndrome." We examine whether firms make the tradeoff between productivity and transparency by examining IT adoption in the Indian retail sector.�We find that computer technology adoption is lower when firms have motivations to avoid transparency. Specifically, technology adoption is lower when there is greater corruption, but higher when there is better enforcement and auditing. So firms have a higher productivity gain threshold to adopt computers in corrupt business environments with patchy and variable enforcement of the tax laws. Not accounting for this motivation to hide from the formal sector underestimates productivity gains from computer adoption. Thus in addition to their direct effects on the economy, enforcement, auditing and corruption can have indirect effects through their negative impact on adoption of productivity enhancing technologies that also increase operational transparency.

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  • K. Sudhir & Debabrata Talukdar, 2015. "The "Peter Pan Syndrome" in Emerging Markets: The Productivity-Transparency Tradeoff in IT Adoption," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 1980, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.
  • Handle: RePEc:cwl:cwldpp:1980
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    5. Sang Ho Kook & Ki Hong Kim & Chulung Lee, 2017. "Dynamic Technological Diversification and Its Impact on Firms’ Performance: An Empirical Analysis of Korean IT Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-16, July.
    6. Kinshuk Jerath & S. Sajeesh & Z. John Zhang, 2016. "A Model of Unorganized and Organized Retailing in Emerging Economies," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(5), pages 756-778, September.
    7. Vishal Narayan & Vithala R. Rao & K. Sudhir, 2015. "Early Adoption of Modern Grocery Retail in an Emerging Market: Evidence from India," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 34(6), pages 825-842, November.
    8. K. Sudhir & Joe Priester & Matt Shum & David Atkin & Andrew Foster & Ganesh Iyer & Ginger Jin & Daniel Keniston & Shinobu Kitayama & Mushfiq Mobarak & Yi Qian & Ishani Tewari & Wendy Wood, 2015. "Research Opportunities in Emerging Markets: an Inter-disciplinary Perspective from Marketing, Economics, and Psychology," Customer Needs and Solutions, Springer;Institute for Sustainable Innovation and Growth (iSIG), vol. 2(4), pages 264-276, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Retailing; Information technology; Productivity; Corruption; Informal economy; Emerging markets; Propensity score matching; Treatment effects models;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C31 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models; Quantile Regressions; Social Interaction Models
    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • D33 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Factor Income Distribution
    • E26 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Informal Economy; Underground Economy
    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce
    • M15 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - IT Management
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East

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