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The impact of ICT and business services on the Italian economy

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  • Saltari, Enrico
  • Wymer, Clifford R.
  • Federici, Daniela

Abstract

This paper studies the role played by ICT in affecting the efficiency of business services (BS) industry, using a structural disequilibrium model of the Italian economy. The Italian BS sector presents a peculiar dynamics (compared to other EU countries) in that, after initially improving its efficiency by adopting ICT, from the early 90s it stagnated. Our estimates suggest that this anomaly can be traced back to a structural deficiency in absorbing new technologies. Our contribution adds to the explanations of the slowdown of the Italian productivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Saltari, Enrico & Wymer, Clifford R. & Federici, Daniela, 2013. "The impact of ICT and business services on the Italian economy," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 110-118.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:streco:v:25:y:2013:i:c:p:110-118
    DOI: 10.1016/j.strueco.2012.07.004
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    Cited by:

    1. Saltari, Enrico & Federici, Daniela, 2014. "Elasticity of substitution and the slowdown of the Italian productivity," MPRA Paper 58422, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Federici, Daniela & Saltari, Enrico, 2018. "Elasticity Of Substitution And Technical Progress: Is There A Misspecification Problem?," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(1), pages 101-121, January.
    3. Hyung-Gon Jeong, 2014. "The Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in the Business Services Industry," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(3), pages 475-495, September.
    4. Wymer, Clifford R. & Saltari, Enrico & Federici, Daniela, 2019. "Endogenizing The Ict Sector: A Multisector Approach," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(S1), pages 25-58, September.
    5. Marianna Belloc & Paolo Guerrieri, 2015. "Impact of ICT diffusion and adoption on sectoral industrial performance: evidence from a panel of European countries," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 32(1), pages 67-84, April.
    6. Daniela Federici & Enrico Saltari, 2016. "Elasticity of substitution and the stagnation of Italian productivity," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(5), pages 503-515, July.
    7. Marco Di Pietro & Enrico Saltari, 2018. "Economic Fluctuations in the U.S. and Euro Area: Quantifying the Contribution of Technical Change," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 85(1), pages 203-216, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Business services; Technologial adoption; Disequilibrium model;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L84 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Personal, Professional, and Business Services
    • L86 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Information and Internet Services; Computer Software
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • C51 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Model Construction and Estimation

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