演講者簡介 : Prof. Chan, Vei-Lin 為Ph.D. in Economics, Purdue University (1986)。
現為本所副研究員。
其主要研究領域為Macroeconomics及Monetary Economics。
演講摘要 : This paper investigates the nature and the causes of the digital divide in Taiwan. We construct a pseudo panel dataset based on The Survey of Family Income and Expenditure, Taiwan, which contains a wealth of information relating to ICT access with a long sample period. We adopt the system GMM estimation procedure to estimate a dynamic panel data model for the ICT penetration rate regressions. The main findings are as follows: (1) Income and human capital are crucial in explaining Taiwan’s digital divide in PCs, cable TV, and cellular phones, though the Internet is an exception. In particular, the evidence indicates that the digital divide in PCs based on income or human capital is a recent phenomenon, as income and human capital could not explain the digital divide in PCs until the mid-1990s. (2) The results lend support to the view that computer-based technological change has been skill-biased in the past decade. Nevertheless, the results do not support the presence of skill-biased technological changes in the cases of cable TV and cellular phones. (3) Geographic location and family structure of households could explain some of the digital divides.
