CURRENT

 PAPERS

“ARE SMOKE DETECTORS AS EFFECTIVE AS THE PUBLIC HEALTH LITERATURE REPORTS?” Economic Letters, forthcoming

Abstract

        We estimate a multivariate model using 1950-2003 data, and find smoke detector impact on fire deaths has an elasticity of –0.10, similar to work by Garbacz (1989, 1991) using pre-saturation smoke detector data.  Public health estimates are higher, near -0.45.

“Mobile, Fixed Line and Internet Service Effects On Global Productive Efficiency,” revised and resubmitted to Information Economics & Policy

Abstract

            Since the pioneering work of Hardy (1980), researchers have strived to measure the link between communication technologies and economic development.  Waverman in his current (Waverman et al., 2005) and past (Röller & Waverman, 2001) efforts has demonstrated the positive link between telecommunications infrastructure investments and economic growth.  Jorgensen and Vu (2005) explore a similar link.  Our approach and focuses explicitly on information networks and the effect they have on information dissemination and organizational efficiency.  Using a stochastic-frontier production function approach, we separate the factors responsible for determining frontier production for subsets of countries while simultaneously exploring the impact of communication networks and economic reform on economies below the frontier.  We find institutional reforms and the growth in information networks appear to benefit the world as a whole, particularly its poorest nations, by improving the efficiency of how these and other resources are used.  Finally, only in Asia we find that education is an important factor in shifting out of the production frontier.  It is reasonable to conclude from our findings that expanded communication networks can work to improve business and government relations.

“Demand for Telecommunication Services in Developing Countries,” forthcoming in Telecommunications Policy

Abstract

    Living standards and economic growth in developing countries are invariably linked to the availability and use of telecom services.  Effective policy decisions require the best estimates of the drivers of these services.  In this paper, telecommunications demand is estimated in models for residential mainline and mobile telephone service for developing countries for the period 1996-2003.  We test for cross-price effects between mainline and mobile service and our findings have important policy implications.  We find residential monthly price elasticity to be insignificant for developing countries, but the connection elasticity is larger than generally found in the literature.  Mobile monthly price elasticities are very large.  A new and important empirical finding is that although wireline phones are substitutes in the mobile market, the contrary is not true – mobile phones are not substitutes in the wireline market, and in fact may be considered complements.  This lack of symmetry has important implications for properly defining telecom markets.  Universal service subsidies and competitive market initiatives should be reevaluated in light of our elasticity estimates.  Increased competition, income growth and enhanced education may be the ultimate universal service promoters. 

Telecom Service and Economic Freedom:  Global Productive Efficiency with Endogeneity Adjustments 

 Abstract

            An endogeneity adjustment is added to the stochastic frontier production model of Thompson and Garbacz (2007).  Market-level demand models for mainline and mobile telecom penetration are first estimated then used as inefficiency factors in the stochastic frontier model of global productivity, where telecom penetration represents a proxy information access and dissemination: an important component of total factor productivity.  We find that productivity studies using reported values of mobile phone penetration may be bias due to endogeneity, but that little bias exists for mainline penetration.  Mobile and mainline telecom penetration is found to reduce inefficiency.

“UNIVERSAL TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICE: A WORLD PERSPECTIVE,” Information Economics & Policy, Vol. 17, 4, October 2005.

Abstract

    Worldwide telecommunications demand is estimated in models for business and residential mainline telephone, and for mobile telephone service using separate models for developed and developing countries for the period 1996-2001.  We test for cross-price elasticities between mainline and mobile service and find that the results are generally suggestive of current complementary relationships.  We find residential monthly price elasticity to be no different than zero for a sample of developing countries, but the connection elasticity is substantial.  Mobile monthly service elasticity is much larger than those for mainline service, suggesting that universal service in developing countries might be promoted more effectively with subsidies for mobile service.  Income elasticities for the residential model are modest while the mobile service model income elasticity for developing countries is much higher.  Expanding markets, income growth and enhanced education may be the ultimate universal service promoters.