Topic Digitalization

An Economical Measure of Attitudes Towards Artificial Intelligence in Work, Healthcare, and Education (ATTARI-WHE)

Artificial intelligence (AI) has profoundly transformed numerous facets of both private and professional life. Understanding how people evaluate AI is crucial for predicting its future adoption and addressing potential barriers. However, existing instruments measuring attitudes towards AI often focus on specific technologies or cross-domain evaluations, while domain-specific measurement instruments ...

Impacts of Electric Carsharing on a Power Sector with Variable Renewables

Electrifying the car fleet is a major strategy for mitigating emissions in the transport sector. As electrification cannot solve all negative externalities associated with cars, reducing the size of the car fleet would be beneficial. Electric carsharing could reconcile current car usage habits with a smaller fleet, but this may reduce the potential of electric cars to align their grid interactions ...

The Evolution of "Theories of Harm" in EU Merger Control

We discuss the main theories of harm in EU merger control and their evolution since the 1990s. We present stylized facts and trends using data extracted from EU merger decisions by natural language processing tools. EU merger policy has adapted over time, both in terms of legislation and theories of harm, as well as in terms of the investigative tools and evidence used. The introduction of the new ...

Three Essays on the Economics of Digitization

Die digitale Transformation verändert wirtschaftliche Abläufe auf tiefgreifende Art und Weise. Online-Plattformen bieten eine beispiellose Vielfalt an Produkten und Dienstleistungen an, während technologische Innovationen wie künstliche Intelligenz rasch entwickelt und in vielen Anwendungsbereichen eingesetzt werden. Gleichzeitig birgt der rasante Aufstieg digitaler Technologien zahlreiche Herausforderungen ...

Access to Digital Finance: Equity Crowdfunding across Countries and Platforms

Financing entrepreneurship spurs innovation and economic growth. Digital financial platforms that crowdfund equity for entrepreneurs have emerged globally, yet they remain poorly understood. We model equity crowdfunding in terms of the relationship between the number of investors and the amount of money raised per pitch. We examine heterogeneity in the average amount raised per pitch that is associated ...

Returns to Data: Evidence from Web Tracking

Tracking online user behavior is essential for targeted advertising and is at the heart of the business model of major online platforms. We analyze tracker-specific web browsing data to show how the prediction quality of consumer profiles varies with data size and scope. We find decreasing returns to the number of observed users and tracked websites. However, prediction quality increases considerably ...

Repurposing Natural Gas Pipelines for Hydrogen: Limits and Options from a Case Study in Germany

We investigate the challenges and options for repurposing existing natural gas pipelines for hydrogen transportation. Challenges of re-purposing are mainly related to safety and due to the risk of hydrogen embrittlement of pipeline steels and the smaller molecular size of the gas. From an economic perspective, the lower volumetric energy density of hydrogen compared to natural gas is a challenge. We ...

Measuring Expenditure with a Mobile App: Do Probability-Based and Nonprobability Panels Differ?

In this case study, we examine a novel aspect of data collected in a typical probability and a typical nonprobability panel: mobile app data. The data were collected in Great Britain in 2018, using the Innovation Panel of the UK Household Longitudinal Study and the Lightspeed online access panel. Respondents in each panel were invited to participate in a month-long study, reporting all their daily ...

Stabilized Benders Decomposition for Energy Planning under Climate Uncertainty

Access to Digital Finance: Equity Crowdfunding across Countries and Platforms

Financing entrepreneurship spurs innovation and economic growth. Digital financial platforms that crowdfund equity for entrepreneurs have emerged globally, yet they remain poorly understood. We model equity crowdfunding in terms of the relationship between the number of investors and the amount of money raised per pitch. We examine heterogeneity in the average amount raised per pitch that is associated ...