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811. When Innovators and Not Implementers: The Political Economies of VoIP in Japan and the United States

Author:
Kenji Erik Kushida and Masayuki Ogata
Publication Date:
10-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy
Abstract:
The spread of Two puzzles immediately present themselves when one examines the spread of "Voice over IP" (VoIP, or IP telephony), a technology that sends voice signals as data, which can travel across the Internet.The first is that, despite the technology's widely hailed potential to undermine the core businesses of incumbent telephone operators by circumventing their traditional telephone networks, incumbent operators do not seem to be in imminent danger. When VoIP made headlines in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a dramatically cheaper alternative to conventional telephones, many predicted that new VoIP service providers would seriously threaten, if not cause the sudden demise of, incumbents. Yet, instead of telephone-replacement VoIP services, it was Skype, the online-based service more reliant on one party calling from a computer, which grew rapidly to take center stage. Why did VoIP as a substitute for conventional telephony, despite being hailed as a potentially "disruptive" technology, not have a catastrophic and relatively immediate disruptive effect on incumbent carriers' business models?
Topic:
Political Economy and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
United States, Japan, and Asia

812. Can Scientific Codes of Conduct Deter Bioweapons?

Author:
Jeanne Guillemin
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:
At least since the First World War, when the German army sabotaged the Allies’ pack animals with anthrax and glanders, worldwide concern about biological weapons has focused on how to improve legal restraints against biological weapons (BW). Over these same years, the major powers have vacillated in their willing- ness to promote international treaties and laws against BW programs. At the end of the Cold War, hopes were high for a global consensus to strengthen the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), making it a standing organization comparable to that of the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention and an expanded man- date to ensure compliance. Instead, in the name of national security, the United States has recently promoted an emphasis on voluntary measures. One of these, the international adoption of biosecurity codes of conduct, puts the burden on elite scientists to solve a prob- lem of weapons proliferation that can be better addressed by effec- tive legal restraints.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Science and Technology, Military Strategy, and Biological Weapons
Political Geography:
Global Focus

813. Using Minimum Energy in Ireland's Schools

Author:
John Dolan
Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
This article explains how Ireland has incorporated low energy design into primary and post-primary schools and gives an overview of projects that have helped inform this approach.
Topic:
Education, Energy Policy, Science and Technology, and Green Technology
Political Geography:
Europe and Ireland

814. Tools to Avoid Disclosing Information About Individuals in Public Use Microdata Files

Author:
Cynthia Taeuber
Publication Date:
06-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Statistical agencies walk a fine line to meet the needs of two sets of customers: those who demand more detailed data to better understand complex policy questions, and those who demand that their responses to surveys or their use of public services be kept confidential.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Government, and Science and Technology

815. Decision-making under Pressure: The Negotiation of the Biometric Passports Regulation in the Council

Author:
Jonathan P. Aus
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Research Papers Archive
Abstract:
This paper accounts for the so-called Biometric Passports Regulation of the European Community. Formally adopted by the Council of the European Union (EU) in December of 2004, the Biometric Passports Regulation prescribes the compulsory biometric “enrollment” of all EU citizens applying for a new passport or passport renewal. Member States fully participating in the Schengen regime and Schengen-affiliated third countries like Norway are obliged to include two biometric identifiers into their citizens' passports by the end of June 2009. Schengen-made “e-Passports” will contain a chip storing a facial scan of the passport holder and two of his or her fingerprints.
Topic:
Security and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
Europe and Norway

816. Protecting Consumers from Cyberfraud

Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
The Internet has become a basic fact of everyday life for millions of people worldwide, from e-mail to online shopping. Ever faster and more accessible connections available on a wider range of platforms, such as mobile phones or person to person portable devices, have spurred new e-commerce opportunities. Online shopping and banking are increasingly widespread and over the next 10 years, the Net is expected to become as common as gas or electricity. Google's “Internet Chief Evangelist” Vinton Cerf, has predicted that by 2016, “everything from the family fridge to the office coffee pot … heating, cooling, and security systems … will be managed through the Internet; … by then, the Internet will become so pervasive that connecting to it will no longer be a conscious act.”
Topic:
Security, Development, Economics, and Science and Technology

817. E-learning in Tertiary Education

Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
E-learning is becoming increasingly prominent in tertiary education, with universities increasing provision and more students signing up. But is it actually changing the way universities teach and students learn, or is it simply a case of students typing up their essays on computers and professors sending them course reading lists or work assignments by e-mail?
Topic:
Development, Education, and Science and Technology

818. A Case for Non-Globalization? The Organization of R in the Wireless Telecommunications Industry

Author:
Alberto Di Minin and Christopher Palmberg
Publication Date:
11-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy
Abstract:
The offshoring of manufacturing has been the most visible ingredient of economic globalization in recent years. However, the rapid change in the global division of manufacturing has overshadowed another – and perhaps even more significant phenomena – namely the internationalization of the R and inventive activities of firms.
Topic:
Economics, Globalization, International Political Economy, and Science and Technology

819. A Fresh Approach to US Energy Security and Alternative Fuels: The Western Hemisphere and the Ethanol Option

Author:
Annette Hester
Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
Spurred by world events, energy security has vaulted to the top of the US political agenda. Concerns about supply interruptions and rising prices sped approval of an energy bill which Congress had in the works for nearly five years. Moreover, the growing prominence of the nation's energy challenges, drew special attention from President Bush in his 2006 State of the Union Address, sparking a renewed search for viable alternative fuels. Of those, ethanol is receiving the lion's share of attention. This paper will argue that the new US focus on energy alternatives will undoubtedly impact the ethanol and agriculture markets. However, this discussion will also advance the notion that a key element of an effective ethanol strategy from both cost and environmental perspectives lies in forging technological and open trading relationships in the Western Hemisphere, particularly with Brazil and Canada.
Topic:
Security, Development, Energy Policy, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
United States, Canada, and Brazil

820. How to Do xtabond2: An Introduction to "Difference" and "System" GMM in Stata

Author:
David Roodman
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
The Arellano-Bond (1991) and Arellano-Bover (1995)/Blundell-Bond (1998) linear generalized method of moments (GMM) estimators are increasingly popular. Both are general estimators designed for situations with “small T, large N” panels, meaning few time periods and many individuals; with independent variables that are not strictly exogenous, meaning correlated with past and possibly current realizations of the error; with fixed effects; and with heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation within individuals. This pedagogic paper first introduces linear GMM. Then it shows how limited time span and the potential for fixed effects and endogenous regressors drive the design of the estimators of interest, offering Stata-based examples along the way. Next it shows how to apply these estimators with xtabond2. It also explains how to perform the Arellano-Bond test for autocorrelation in a panel after other Stata commands, using abar.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Science and Technology