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Roughly 3 billion citizens remain offline, equating to approximately 40 percent of the global population. Therefore, providing Internet connectivity is an essential part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Goal 9). In this paper a high-resolution global model is developed to evaluate the necessary investment requirements to achieve affordable universal broadband. The results indicate that approximately $418 billion needs to be mobilized to connect all unconnected citizens globally (targeting 40–50 GB/Month per user with 95 percent reliability). The bulk of additional investment is for emerging market economies (73 percent) and low-income developing countries (24 percent). To our knowledge, the paper contributes the first high-resolution global assessment which quantifies universal broadband investment at the sub-national level to achieve SDG Goal 9. • Over one third of the global population remain unconnected. • A high-resolution global model is developed to evaluate necessary broadband investment. • $418 billion needs to be mobilized to connect all unconnected citizens globally. • The baseline targets 40–50 GB/Month per user with 95 percent reliability. • Universal broadband assessments must be explicit about capacity and Quality of Service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public support schemes are typically targeted towards capital investments. However, the targeting of digitization investments might not only be a missed opportunity to increase the usage of state-of-the-art digital services in the economy, but might even lower the uptake thereof. This paper exploits variation in the eligibility and the size of potential investment subsidies of German firms in order to analyse the relationship with the firms' propensity to adopt cloud services. Our empirical results are in line with the hypothesis that capital investment schemes lower the use of cloud services by firms: the higher the potential subsidy for investments, the lower the incentive for firms to adopt cloud services. We consider this finding an unintended policy effect which is highly relevant for policy makers, as the adoption of cloud services has been linked to various benefits on the firm as well as on the aggregate economy level. • Investment subsidies lower the cost of IT investments, distorting the market of firm digitization. • Firms eligible for investment funding have a lower probability to use cloud services. • The higher the potential investment support, the lower the propensity of firms to adopt cloud services. • Due to economic benefits of cloud computing, public investment schemes do not support today's digitization needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to understand whether digitization, measured in terms of ICT capital and penetration of the internet, helps reduce the negative impact of informality on labor productivity growth, especially in emerging & developing countries. Informality is argued to be a drag on productivity growth in emerging & developing countries. We argue that increased use of digital technologies can help informal sector reduce transaction and coordination costs; enhance the linkages between the informal and formal sectors; facilitate the integration of the informal sector in the global value chain; and also increase the potential for the formalization of the economy in general - all of these are likely to contribute to aggregate productivity growth. Our econometric analysis using panel data for 118 countries from 1997-2017 provides some evidence of ICT capital deepening helping to reduce informality's negative impact on aggregate productivity growth. However, the moderating effect is modest compared to the magnitude of the negative impact of informality, indicating the need for a faster and more intense digitization efforts in emerging & developing economies. Moreover, investments in complementary factors including skills and infrastructure are imperative to fully unleash the potential of ICT in reducing the negative impact of informality. • The expansion of informality reduces the pace of labor productivity growth in emerging economies. • Increased levels of ICT capital per worker can mitigate the negative labor productivity effects of informality. • The mitigating impact is modest, apparently due to the slow ICT adoption in the informal economy. • ICT investment can support informal productivity, formal-informal links, and formalization, enhancing aggregate productivity. • Policies to improve informal labor market conditions and facilitate ICT adoption by the informal sector are crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet has changed the global economic landscape. In particular, the fast-changing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has directly led to a far-reaching impact on the production and operation of firms. Many previous studies have discussed the relationship of ICT and the total factor productivity (TFP) of firms, but failed to reach a consistent conclusion. This paper, based on the data of Chinese listed manufacturing firms from 2010 to 2019, explores the impact of ICT on manufacturing firms' TFP and its mechanism, and concludes that ICT have positive correlation with the TFP of manufacturing firms. According to the estimated results of this paper, TFP will increase by about 1.8 % for every 1 % of additional ICT investment. Through channel analysis, this paper finds that the positive effect can be achieved through the following four channels: cutting information search costs, enhancing information processing capabilities, reducing internal capital misallocation, and promoting R&D efficiency. This paper is a supplement to research on firm TFP, provides new micro-evidence for exploring the relationship between ICT and TFP of manufacturing firms, and brings important implications for understanding the role of ICT in firm production activities. • The latest Chinese micro-evidence about "Solow paradox". • 4 vital channels of ICT: search costs, information processing capabilities, internal capital misallocation, and R&D efficiency. • The moderating role of firm's technological heterogeneity. • High latitude fixed effects model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand for faster broadband access is a key driver of FTTH adoption and fixed broadband competition, and therefore of co-investment. This paper assesses the effects on FTTH adoption and competition of FTTH co-investment. Co-investment had indeed been endorsed in the European Electronic Communication Code as a relevant option for conciliating investment and competition. This paper contributes to evaluating this policy option by providing detailed empirical estimates of the influence of co-investment on Fiber to the Home (FTTH) adoption and competition in the French fixed broadband market. We combine several French municipality level datasets and use a two-stage control-function approach to correct for the endogeneity of investor entry. We show that the presence of co-investment leads to an increase of 7.9% in FTTH adoption in 2018. Co-investment offers also enhance competition. Co-investment by competitors causes a decrease in Orange, French incumbent operator, total retail broadband market penetration by 5.9% whereas no co-investment by competitors lets Orange's total retail broadband market penetration unchanged. Our findings confirm that co-investment supports the policy objectives of adoption and competition and should be supported by regulation. • Empirical analysis of impact of FTTH co-investment at French municipality level, by using a two-stage control-function method • FTTH coverage speed at municipality level determined by operators' commitment and therefore considered to be exogenous • FTTH co-investment of competitors increases FTTH adoption by 7.9% of home passed • FTTH co-investment reduces incumbent fixed broadband market penetration of municipality housings by 5.9% [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]