TPRC 2024: The 52nd Research Conference on Communications, Information and Inter

Link to Paper

Abstract:
By modelling the key economic features of data infrastructures and cloud services, we have shown how investments in information and data services affect labor markets, sectoral growth and related outcomes at the national level. We assess how regulatory choices shape the outcomes and describe the advantages and disadvantages of common decisions by governments as well as domestic and foreign businesses. We use a dynamic model that can be adjusted to analyze changes in, for example, energy prices, labor costs, taxation, investment boosts or declines. These have been applied to show the specific effects on data infrastructure businesses as well as banking, e-commerce and telecommunications in five countries: Egypt, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico and Turkey. Our results show not only the labor market effects but also demonstrate what tradeoffs are being made and how much they cost, the extent of the fragility of data infrastructures, and we measure the gaps that currently exist between well-served nations and less developed economies and how those gaps are likely to be exacerbated unless they are ameliorated by better policies, greater investment and stimulated demand.