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New Research on the Digital Economy
Organized by
Centre for Management of Innovation & Technopreneurship
| Date: |
04 July 2001 (Wednesday) |
| Time: |
0900am - 1200noon |
| Venue: |
Conference Room A, #04-01,
FBA1 Building,
National University of Singapore |
PROGRAM
| 0900 - 0915am |
Welcoming address
Assoc Prof Wong Poh Kam
Director CMIT |
| 0905
- 0950am |
"Demand-driven
knowledge clusters in a weightless economy"
Prof Danny Quah
Professor of Economics, London School of
Economics
Followed by Q&A |
| 0950 - 1035am |
"ICT Production
and Diffusion in Asia: Digital Dividends
or Digital Divide?"
Assoc Prof Wong Poh Kam
Director CMIT |
| 1035 - 1100am |
Tea Break |
| 1100 - 1145am |
"ICT Clusters in
Europe"
Dr Heli Koski
Head of Unit, The Industrial economics and
international business program
The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy
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| 1145 - 1200noon |
General discussion.
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We are pleased to invite you and your colleagues
to attend the talk. As there are limited number
of seats available, please register for the talk
via email to Joanne
(cmtsimbh@nus.edu.sg)
with your Name, Company/Institution, Email Add
or Tel: 874 5149.
Admission is free
Appendix: Abstracts of papers and Details of
Speakers
Demand-driven knowledge clusters in a weightless
economy
Abstract
That knowledge and technology matter for economic
growth and performance is widely accepted. However,
most formal analyses of knowledge-driven economies
have focused on the supply side: research and development
and productivity. In modern high-tech economies
where, say, information and communications technologies
figure prominently, just as important is the demand
side of markets for goods akin to knowledge. This
paper develops a model of knowledge cluster formation
in a geographical space, driven by demand-side characteristics.
Knowledge concentrations in space spontaneously
emerge, even when physical distance and transportation
costs are irrelevant. These clusters manifest in
equilibrium as waves on a smooth, otherwise featureless,
three-dimensional globe; they arise to resolve the
tension between spatial spillover externalities
and the costs of adapting to new sophisticated knowledge-products.
About the Speaker
Danny Quah is Professor of Economics at the London
School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
He is associated with the Technology and Growth
Program at the LSE's Centre for Economic Performance,
and serves on the Academic Panels of Her Majesty's
Treasury and the Office for National Statistics
in the United Kingdom. In 1998, the Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation awarded him a grant to study the weightless
economy and the economics of information technology.
His academic research has been further supported
by awards from the British Academy, the U.K. Economic
and Social Research Council, and the MacArthur Foundation.
In economics, he has made contributions in a number
of areas, ranging from time-series econometrics,
business cycles, inflation, and international income
inequality to, most recently, technology and economic
growth. He also contributes to public understanding
of economics, especially on technology, through
regular public lectures and commentaries on economic
development in newspapers and on radio and television.
ICT Production and Diffusion in Asia:
Digital Dividends or Digital Divide?
Abstract
This paper examines the empirical evidence to determine
whether Asian countries, despite having captured
a disproportionately high share of global production
of ICT goods, have as a group been laggard in the
adoption of ICT in comparison to non-Asian countries.
Using regression analysis, it is shown that as a
group Asian countries have indeed had generally
lower rates of ICT adoption relative to their levels
of potential as predicted on the basis of their
current level of development (GDP/capita) and competitiveness
(world competitiveness index). In addition, disparities
in ICT diffusion are found to be significantly higher
among Asian countries than among non-Asian countries.
In particular, a significant 'digital divide' is
found to exist between the five more advanced countries
of the region (Japan and the four Asian NIEs) and
the other seven developing Asian countries. Policy
implications of the findings for the Asian countries
are highlighted.
About the Speaker
Dr. Wong is an Associate Professor in the Business
School at the National University of Singapore,
where he directs the Centre for Management of Innovation
and Technopreneurship (CMIT) since 1990. He has
also been the director of the MSc. Program in Management
of Technology at NUS from 1992-2000. He obtained
his BSc, MSc. and Ph.D. degrees from MIT. Prior
to joining NUS in 1988, he was a co-founder of two
IT-related businesses in Malaysia and the founding
managing director of a consulting firm in Malaysia.
He has consulted widely for international agencies
(e.g. World Bank Institute, Asian Development Bank,
UNIDO and UNESCAP), various government agencies
in Singapore (e.g. the Economic Development Board,
the National Science and Technology Board, the Infocom
Development Authority, the Trade Development Board
and the Port of Singapore Authority), as well as
numerous private companies in Singapore and the
region.
ICT Clusters in Europe
Abstract
We analyze the clustering of European ICT activities.
Our focus is primarily on the ICT manufacturing
industries in the EU countries. We find a clear
and intensifying concentration tendency of ICT-related
production and R&D. As a rule, originally specialized
countries have become more so. In terms of export
specialization, however, countries have become more
similar. This may be a con-sequence of new production
modes and distribution systems in the sector. Mapping
of ICT businesses by postal code reveals two blocs
of European ICT activity. The larger central bloc
begins in the greater London area and proceeds via
Randstad through Ger-many's industrial heartland
and ends in northern Italy. The smaller Scandinavian
bloc covers the Helsinki and Stockholm metropolitan
areas. Our empirical investigation shows a notable
country-level specialization in ICT, but businesses
within the EU concentrate into the spatial clusters
that do not respect national borders.
About the Speaker
Dr Koski is Head of Unit for the Industrial economics
and international business program, at the Research
Institute of the Finnish Economy. He received his
doctorate in Economics at the Finnish Postgraduate
Programme in Economics, University of Oulu (Finland),
in 1998. His dissertation was on Economic analysis
of the adoption of technologies with network externalities.
Prior to his current appointment, he was a researcher
at the Research Institute of the Finnish Economy;
a Visiting Scholar at the Department of Economics,
Stern School of Business, New York University (January
- September 1999) and a Visiting Scholar, Department
of Economics, Free University of Amsterdam (August
1997 - March 1998).
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