IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ecb/ecbwps/20232809.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Digitalisation and the economy

Author

Listed:
  • Dedola, Luca
  • Ehrmann, Michael
  • Hoffmann, Peter
  • Lamo, Ana
  • Paz-Pardo, Gonzalo
  • Slacalek, Jiri
  • Strasser, Georg

Abstract

Digitalisation has fundamentally changed the global economy and will continue to do so. This paper draws on economic research to identify some of its key implications for labour markets, inequality, e-commerce and the financial system. Beyond its potential to boost productivity and living standards, digitalisation: i) does not necessarily replace jobs on aggregate but changes their content; ii) tends to raise income and wealth inequality; iii) has ambiguous effects on competition; and iv) might change how the retail and financial sectors respond to monetary policy. Developing adequate (re-)training opportunities and providing a labour market, regulatory, and innovation environment which encourages the creation of “good jobs” is essential to improve productivity and equity while avoiding a polarisation of labour markets. E-commerce and fintech will likely lead to a faster transmission of monetary policy. The rise of fintech brings about new risks for regulatory arbitrage and has ramifications for financial stability. JEL Classification: D31, D4, E52, G2

Suggested Citation

  • Dedola, Luca & Ehrmann, Michael & Hoffmann, Peter & Lamo, Ana & Paz-Pardo, Gonzalo & Slacalek, Jiri & Strasser, Georg, 2023. "Digitalisation and the economy," Working Paper Series 2809, European Central Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20232809
    Note: 80922
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.ecb.europa.eu//pub/pdf/scpwps/ecb.wp2809~6d29dc358d.en.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Philippe Aghion & Antonin Bergeaud & Timo Boppart & Peter J Klenow & Huiyu Li, 2023. "A Theory of Falling Growth and Rising Rents," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(6), pages 2675-2702.
    2. Daron Acemoglu & Claire Lelarge & Pascual Restrepo, 2020. "Competing with Robots: Firm-Level Evidence from France," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 110, pages 383-388, May.
    3. Andreas Fuster & Matthew Plosser & Philipp Schnabl & James Vickery, 2019. "The Role of Technology in Mortgage Lending," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(5), pages 1854-1899.
    4. Thomas Blanchet & Lucas Chancel & Amory Gethin, 2019. "How Unequal is Europe? Evidence from Distributional National Accounts, 1980-2017," World Inequality Lab Working Papers hal-02877000, HAL.
    5. Georg Graetz & Guy Michaels, 2018. "Robots at Work," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 100(5), pages 753-768, December.
    6. Yuriy Gorodnichenko & Oleksandr Talavera, 2017. "Price Setting in Online Markets: Basic Facts, International Comparisons, and Cross-Border Integration," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(1), pages 249-282, January.
    7. Philippe Aghion & Ufuk Akcigit & Antonin Bergeaud & Richard Blundell & David Hemous, 2019. "Innovation and Top Income Inequality," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 86(1), pages 1-45.
    8. Itai Ater & Oren Rigbi, 2023. "Price Transparency, Media, and Informative Advertising," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(1), pages 1-29, February.
    9. Thomas Piketty & Emmanuel Saez & Gabriel Zucman, 2018. "Distributional National Accounts: Methods and Estimates for the United States," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 133(2), pages 553-609.
    10. Benjamin Moll & Lukasz Rachel & Pascual Restrepo, 2022. "Uneven Growth: Automation's Impact on Income and Wealth Inequality," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 90(6), pages 2645-2683, November.
    11. Charles I. Jones & Jihee Kim, 2018. "A Schumpeterian Model of Top Income Inequality," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 126(5), pages 1785-1826.
    12. Daron Acemoglu & Pascual Restrepo, 2020. "Unpacking Skill Bias: Automation and New Tasks," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 110, pages 356-361, May.
    13. Dani Rodrik & Stefanie Stantcheva, 2021. "Fixing capitalism’s good jobs problem [‘Artificial Intelligence, Automation and Work’]," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 37(4), pages 824-837.
    14. Yoon J. Jo & Misaki Matsumura & David E. Weinstein, 2019. "The Impact of E-Commerce on Relative Prices and Consumer Welfare," NBER Working Papers 26506, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Marco Bonomo & Carlos Carvalho & Oleksiy Kryvtsov & Sigal Ribon & Rodolfo Rigato, 2020. "Multi-Product Pricing: Theory and Evidence from Large Retailers in Israel," Staff Working Papers 20-12, Bank of Canada.
    16. Acemoglu, Daron & Autor, David, 2011. "Skills, Tasks and Technologies: Implications for Employment and Earnings," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 12, pages 1043-1171, Elsevier.
    17. José María Liberti & Mitchell A Petersen, 2019. "Information: Hard and Soft," The Review of Corporate Finance Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 8(1), pages 1-41.
    18. Dominique Guellec, 2020. "Digital Innovation and the Distribution of Income," NBER Chapters, in: Measuring and Accounting for Innovation in the Twenty-First Century, pages 323-370, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Diego Aparicio & Zachary Metzman & Roberto Rigobon, 2021. "The Pricing Strategies of Online Grocery Retailers," NBER Working Papers 28639, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Macias, Paweł & Stelmasiak, Damian & Szafranek, Karol, 2023. "Nowcasting food inflation with a massive amount of online prices," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 809-826.
    21. Joachim Hubmer & Per Krusell & Anthony A. Smith., 2021. "Sources of US Wealth Inequality: Past, Present, and Future," NBER Macroeconomics Annual, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(1), pages 391-455.
    22. Alberto Cavallo & Roberto Rigobon, 2016. "The Billion Prices Project: Using Online Prices for Measurement and Research," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 30(2), pages 151-178, Spring.
    23. Ariel Burstein & Eduardo Morales & Jonathan Vogel, 2019. "Changes in Between-Group Inequality: Computers, Occupations, and International Trade," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 348-400, April.
    24. Aparicio, Diego & Bertolotto, Manuel I., 2020. "Forecasting inflation with online prices," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 232-247.
    25. Alberto Cavallo, 2018. "More Amazon Effects: Online Competition and Pricing Behaviors," NBER Working Papers 25138, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    26. Christian Dustmann & Attila Lindner & Uta Schönberg & Matthias Umkehrer & Philipp vom Berge, 2022. "Reallocation Effects of the Minimum Wage," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 137(1), pages 267-328.
    27. Hillen, Judith & Fedoseeva, Svetlana, 2021. "E-commerce and the end of price rigidity?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 63-73.
    28. Patrick Lünnemann & Ladislav Wintr, 2011. "Price Stickiness in the US and Europe Revisited: Evidence from Internet Prices," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 73(5), pages 593-621, October.
    29. Austan D. Goolsbee & Peter J. Klenow, 2018. "Internet Rising, Prices Falling: Measuring Inflation in a World of E-Commerce," NBER Working Papers 24649, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Strasser, Georg & Wieland, Elisabeth & Macias, Paweł & Błażejowska, Aneta & Szafranek, Karol & Wittekopf, David & Franke, Jörn & Henkel, Lukas & Osbat, Chiara, 2023. "E-commerce and price setting: evidence from Europe," Occasional Paper Series 320, European Central Bank.
    2. Macias, Paweł & Stelmasiak, Damian & Szafranek, Karol, 2023. "Nowcasting food inflation with a massive amount of online prices," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 809-826.
    3. Patrick Bajari & Zhihao Cen & Victor Chernozhukov & Manoj Manukonda & Jin Wang & Ramon Huerta & Junbo Li & Ling Leng & George Monokroussos & Suhas Vijaykunar & Shan Wan, 2023. "Hedonic prices and quality adjusted price indices powered by AI," CeMMAP working papers 08/23, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    4. Brambilla, Irene & César, Andrés & Falcone, Guillermo & Gasparini, Leonardo, 2023. "The impact of robots in Latin America: Evidence from local labor markets," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    5. Fierro, Luca Eduardo & Caiani, Alessandro & Russo, Alberto, 2022. "Automation, Job Polarisation, and Structural Change," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 499-535.
    6. Domini, Giacomo & Grazzi, Marco & Moschella, Daniele & Treibich, Tania, 2022. "For whom the bell tolls: The firm-level effects of automation on wage and gender inequality," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(7).
    7. Ryosuke Shimizu & Shohei Momoda, 2021. "Does Automation Technology increase Wage?," Discussion papers ron343, Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance Japan.
    8. Hillen, Judith & Fedoseeva, Svetlana, 2021. "E-commerce and the end of price rigidity?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 63-73.
    9. Ugur, Mehmet, 2024. "Innovation, market power and the labour share: Evidence from OECD industries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    10. Mr. Andrew Berg & Lahcen Bounader & Nikolay Gueorguiev & Hiroaki Miyamoto & Mr. Kenji Moriyama & Ryota Nakatani & Luis-Felipe Zanna, 2021. "For the Benefit of All: Fiscal Policies and Equity-Efficiency Trade-offs in the Age of Automation," IMF Working Papers 2021/187, International Monetary Fund.
    11. Ryosuke Shimizu & Shohei Momoda, 2020. "Does Automation Technology increase Wage?," KIER Working Papers 1039, Kyoto University, Institute of Economic Research.
    12. Bojaj, Martin M. & Djurovic, Gordana & Fabris, Nikola & Milovic, Nikola, 2023. "Top 1% and inequality connectedness in the EMU and WB," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 139-155.
    13. ARAI Kosuke & FUJIWARA Ippei & SHIROTA Toyoichiro, 2021. "Robot Penetration and Task Changes," Discussion papers 21093, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    14. Sebastian Doerr & Thomas Drechsel & Donggyu Lee, 2022. "Income Inequality and Job Creation," Staff Reports 1021, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    15. Advani, Arun & Summers, Andy & Tarrant, Hannah, 2020. "Measuring UK top incomes," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 490, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    16. Henrik Schwabe & Fulvio Castellacci, 2020. "Automation, workers’ skills and job satisfaction," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(11), pages 1-26, November.
    17. Cortes, Matias & Lerche, Adrian & Schönberg, Uta & Tschopp, Jeanne, 2023. "Technological Change, Firm Heterogeneity and Wage Inequality," IZA Discussion Papers 16070, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Vivian Chu & Tatjana Dahlhaus & Christopher Hajzler, 2023. "Digitalization: Prices of Goods and Services," Discussion Papers 2023-27, Bank of Canada.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    competition; digitalisation; e-commerce; fintech; inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D4 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • G2 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20232809. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Official Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/emieude.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.