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The objective of the study is to analyze the dynamic linkages between technology factors and carbon emission in a panel of 26 selected European countries from 2000 to 2017. The results of the panel fixed-effect regression model show the monotonic increasing function between agriculture technology and carbon emissions. In contrast, panel quantile regression confirmed the inverted U-shaped ‘Agriculture Technology Kuznets curve (ATKC)’ of carbon emissions at 30th quantile distribution to 80th quantile distribution with the turning points of 12,60,000 tractors to 9,68,000 tractors, respectively. The results further exhibit the negative relationship between high-technology exports and carbon emissions, as high-technology exports have a positive impact on environmental quality in order to reduce carbon emissions across countries. The relationship between ICT goods exports and carbon emissions is complimentary, while R&D expenditures have a negative relationship with carbon emissions in a given period. The study substantiates the ‘pollution haven hypothesis (PHH)’ that is controlled by trade liberalization policies. The telephone and mobile penetrations have a differential impact on carbon emissions in both of the prescribed statistical techniques, which needs fair economic policies in order to delimit carbon emissions through green ICT infrastructure. The results further exhibit the ‘material footprint’ that is visible at the earlier stages of economic development while it is substantially decreasing at the later stages to verify ‘environmental Kuznets curve (EKC)’ hypothesis with a turning point of US$45,700. Finally, the study shows the positive relationship between industry value-added and carbon emissions that sabotaged the process of green development across countries. The study concludes that green ICT infrastructure is imperative for sustainable production and consumption, and climate change protection with cleaner production techniques and environmental regulations that reshape the international policies towards sustained growth.

The study probes cointegration and Granger causality between telephone connections and economic activity for India using annual data for the time span 1980–81 to 2006–07. Empirical results fail to establish any cointegrating relationship among the variables. The heterogeneity of penetration within different states of the country and within the time period of analysis may explain the lack of a long term relationship among the variables. The study, however, establishes short-run unidirectional Granger causality running from telephone connections to economic growth signifying the strategic importance of telecommunications for the Indian growth story. It re-enforces the urgency of initiatives aimed at providing universal telephone and data connectivity to the entire population. To study the behavior of variables out of the sample period, generalized impulse response paths due to the various shocks to the system are studied. The findings are that GDP responds positively to a one-time shock in telephone connections but returns to its initial levels after 4 years. The study discusses the possible reasons behind the empirical findings and concludes with a discussion of policy prescriptions to augment telephone connectivity in India.

Equity and growth are central concerns for development in Mexico. Specific inequalities in income, power, wealth, and status create and sustain economic institutions and policies that perpetuate these inequalities and promote poor economic performace. 'No Growth without Equity? Inequality, Interests, and Competition in Mexico' presents a novel analysis showing why more equality is necessary to increase economic growth. The authors analyze the causes of persistent inequality and weak growth in Mexico, despite major changes associated with NAFTA and democratization, and draw implications for policy design. The book involves an innovative synthesis of work on overall links between equity and growth, and carefully grounded analysis in specific areas. The issues are of intense interest to policy debate in Mexico and to the development community in Latin America and elsewhere.

Access to information, and communications technologies has become crucial to a sustainable agenda of economic development, and poverty reduction, and yet access remains concentrated in a few regions and population groups, with the contours of this new \" digital divide \" closely following, and supplementing existing income, and economic divides. However, technological innovations, economic pressures, and regulatory reforms, are making access to information, and communications technologies more affordable, and, providing opportunities to close the digital divide. This discussion paper outlines a number of policy, and regulatory measures, including incentives to attract investors to high cost, or challenging areas, that can be used under different scenarios, to close the digital divide. While Bank Group experience shows an increasing number of projects with specific universal access components, this paper proposes alternatives for Bank Group support for universal access policies, through an appropriate mix of technical assistance, and investments.

Since 1997, China has devoted considerable resources to information and communications technology (ICT) development. China has the world's largest telecommunications market, and its information technology industry has been an engine of economic growth—growing two to three times faster than GDP over the past 10 years. E-government initiatives have achieved significant results, and the private sector has increasingly used ICT for production and service processes, internal management, and online transactions. The approaching 10-year mark provides an excellent opportunity to update the policy to reflect the evolving needs of China's economy. These needs include the challenges posed by industrialization, urbanization, upgraded consumption, and social mobility. Developing a more effective ICT strategy will help China to achieve its economic and social goals. Addressing all the critical factors is complex and requires long-term commitment. This book highlights several key issues that need to be addressed decisively in the second half of this decade, through policies entailing institutional reform, to trigger broader changes. This books is the result of 10 months of strategic research by a World Bank team at the request of China's State Council Informatization Office and the Advisory Committee for State Informatization. Drawing on background papers by Chinese researchers, the study provides a variety of domestic perspectives and local case studies and combines these perspectives with international experiences on how similar issues may have been addressed in other countries.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the long run impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on economic growth in the Sub Saharan African (SSA) region. The direct impact of ICTs use was examined for a 27-year period (1990-2014), before the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) era (1990-1999) and during the MDGs era (2000-2014). Second and third objectives examined the nonlinear effect of ICT in the economic growth and their threshold values, respectively. The main growth enhancing transmission channels of ICT use were also looked at.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses panel method technique of system generalist method of moment. The data period was collected from the years 1990-2014 from 45 SSA countries. The three main proxies of ICT are fixed telephone lines, mobile phone users and internet users per 100 inhabitants.FindingsFor the direct impact analysis, mobile phone and internet were found to have triggered economic growth. However, for nonlinear effect analysis, mass penetration of ICT proxies seems to slow economic growth. The threshold analysis showed a penetration rate threshold of 4.5 per cent for both mobile phone and internet, and 5 per cent for fixed telephone line before economic growth gets triggered. Finally, the results indicated that, except for financial development, human capital, institutional quality and domestic investment were the main growth enhancing transmission channels of ICTs use in the economy.Practical implicationsFrom a policy perspective, results suggest SSA region to open more doors for investment in technology to ensure sustainable development. Such policy has to focus on investment into main transmission channels of ICT, namely, human capital, institutional quality and domestic investment. The policymakers have to ensure that penetration of mobile phone, fixed telephone and internet is met by improvement in human capital, institutional quality and domestic investment. Moreover, to fully use the potential of ICT, improving the financial sector is highly recommended.Originality/valueIn SSA, studies that address the impact of ICT on economic growth was almost non-existent, especially on its nonlinear effect and main transmission channels. While few studies have examined the direct impact of ICT, this study extended the scope by including the main growth enhancing transmission channels and nonlinear effect of ICT on SSA economies using recent data.

With some 6 billion mobile subscriptions in use worldwide, around three-quarters of the world's inhabitants now have access to a mobile phone. Mobiles are arguably the most ubiquitous modern technology: in some developing countries, more people have access to a mobile phone than to a bank account, electricity, or even clean water. Mobile communications now offer major opportunities to advance human development from providing basic access to education or health information to making cash payments to stimulating citizen involvement in democratic processes. The developing world is 'more mobile' than the developed world. In the developed world, mobile communications have added value to legacy communication systems and have supplemented and expanded existing information flows. However, the developing world is following a different, 'mobile first' development trajectory. Many mobile innovations such as multi-SIM card phones, low-value recharges, and mobile payments have originated in poorer countries and are spreading from there. New mobile applications that are designed locally and rooted in the realities of the developing world will be much better suited to addressing development challenges than applications transplanted from elsewhere. In particular, locally developed applications can address developing-country concerns such as digital literacy and affordability. This 2012 edition of the World Bank's information and communications for development report analyzes the growth and evolution of mobile telephony, and the rise of data-based services delivered to handheld devices, including apps. The report explores the consequences for development of the emerging 'app economy.' It summarizes current thinking and seeks to inform the debate on the use of mobile phones for development. This report looks at key ecosystem-based applications in agriculture, health, financial services, employment, and government, with chapters devoted to each. Avec environ six millions d’abonnements actifs dans le monde, ce sont trois quarts des habitants du globe qui ont désormais accès au téléphone mobile. Les téléphones mobiles constituent sans doute la technologie moderne la plus répandue : dans certains pays en développement l’on compte un nombre plus élevé de personnes ayant accès à un téléphone portable qu’à un compte bancaire, à l’électricité ou même à l’eau potable. Les systèmes de communications mobiles présentent des possibilités énormes de faire avancer le développement humain, à commencer par l’élargissement de l’accès à l’éducation de base ou aux informations sanitaires, en passant par les paiements en espèces et l’incitation du citoyen à s’engager dans les processus démocratiques. Les applications mobiles donnent de l’autonomie à leurs utilisateurs et contribuent à améliorer leur qualité de vie et leurs moyens d’existence tout en renforçant l’ensemble de l’économie. Le rapport montre que les applications mobiles permettent non seulement d’autonomiser les individus, mais aussi d’avoir des répercussions positives sur la croissance, l’entrepreneuriat et la productivité à l’échelle de l’économie toute entière. L’édition 2012 du rapport Information et communications au service du développement analyse la croissance et l’évolution de la téléphonie mobile et la montée en puissance des services basés sur les données acheminés vers les appareils portatifs, notamment les applications. Le rapport examine les conséquences de l’économie émergente des applications sur le développement. Il fait la synthèse de la réflexion actuelle et tente d’enrichir le débat sur l’utilisation du téléphone mobile au service du développement. Il passe en revue des applications clés du secteur dans les domaines de l’agriculture, la santé, les services financiers, l’emploi et l’administration publique ; des chapitres entiers sont consacrés à chacun de ces domaines. Ce n’est plus le téléphone lui-même qui retient l’attention, mais plutôt la manière dont il est utilisé, ainsi que le contenu et les applications auxquels le téléphone mobile permet d’accéder.

Between 2006 and 2010 the World Bank sought to unmask the role of science, technology, and innovation in Ugandan industry. This report presents insights from this research based on case studies of six sectors: agriculture, health, energy, information and communication technology (ICT), transport, and logistics. Based on more than 80 interviews cutting across Uganda's small and medium-sized enterprises, universities, and government entities, the report's findings are intended to offer the government and its partners in industry increased clarity about how better to harness science, technology, and innovation to propel the economy. Enabling implementation of the recent Uganda national science, technology, and innovation policy is a parallel goal of the report. The policy articulates the government's intent to foster research and development that builds the human capital that Uganda requires for a knowledge-based economy. The case studies from which this report's recommendations are drawn depict a diverse range of experiences across industrial sectors in terms of generating, applying, and adapting science and technology to contribute to Uganda's development. Despite the relatively small size of the country's investments in science and technology, the past 20 years have seen considerable advances in building capacity in science and technology, developing related institutions and human resources, advancing collaboration and communication, and expanding the base of available knowledge. But given Uganda's limited investments in science and technology, policies should prioritize near-term investments that benefit key sectors. This report identifies those near-term investments as well as longer-term ones (three to five years in the future).

Africa Development Indicators 2006 is the latest annual report from the World Bank on social and economic conditions across the continent. It was revamped this year to better report and monitor the challenges and transformations in Africa. Africa Development Indicators has evolved from a single data book, and this year consists of three independent but complementary products: this book, which brings together an essay and key outcome indicators for Africa, the Little Data Book on Africa 2006, and the World Bank Africa Database (CD-ROM).

To our knowledge, no meta-analysis to date has assessed the efficacy of mobile phone apps to promote weight loss and increase physical activity. To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies to compare the efficacy of mobile phone apps compared with other approaches to promote weight loss and increase physical activity. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of relevant studies identified by a search of PubMed, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and Scopus from their inception through to August 2015. Two members of the study team (EG-F, GF-M) independently screened studies for inclusion criteria and extracted data. We included all controlled studies that assessed a mobile phone app intervention with weight-related health measures (ie, body weight, body mass index, or waist circumference) or physical activity outcomes. Net change estimates comparing the intervention group with the control group were pooled across studies using random-effects models. We included 12 articles in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Compared with the control group, use of a mobile phone app was associated with significant changes in body weight (kg) and body mass index (kg/m(2)) of -1.04 kg (95% CI -1.75 to -0.34; I2 = 41%) and -0.43 kg/m(2) (95% CI -0.74 to -0.13; I2 = 50%), respectively. Moreover, a nonsignificant difference in physical activity was observed between the two groups (standardized mean difference 0.40, 95% CI -0.07 to 0.87; I2 = 93%). These findings were remarkably robust in the sensitivity analysis. No publication bias was shown. Evidence from this study shows that mobile phone app-based interventions may be useful tools for weight loss.