A note on the configuration of the digital ecosystem in Latin America

Abstract

We evaluate the main characteristics of the digital ecosystem of North American (USA and Canada) and 16 Latin American economies for 2019. By employing the ‘benefit of the doubt’ model rooted in non-parametric techniques to scrutinize a composite indicator designed to assess the digital ecosystem (i.e., the Digital Platform Economy (DPE) index), the analysis allows the computation of endogenous (country-specific) weights that can be used for developing more informed policy making. The results show that countries prioritize different aspects of their digital ecosystem which confirms that, contrary to homogeneous prescription, tailor-made policy is a more desirable approach if the objective is to optimize the resources deployed to enhance the countries’ digital ecosystem.

Can Virtual Reality Become an Instrument in Favor of Territory Economy and Sustainability?

“…The answers obtained give greater importance to thinking that their friends and/or family of whom they value their opinion, will think well of them when using VR applications in national parks (3.67), but the lowest score considers, on average, that they neither agree nor disagree that to use VR applications in national parks they need to consult other people (3.03). In relation to distribution, the lowest standard deviation corresponds to whether they would think well of themselves when using VR applications by their family and/or friends of whom they value their opinion (1,156).…”

Assessment of urban development: A composite indicator analysis of the safe city index through the ‘benefit of the doubt’ model

“…In addition, urban development is a process strictly connected to the socioeconomic competition between cities, local and cultural circumstances, urban strengths and weaknesses, and political factors. This constant growth of cities requires the adoption of flexible policies, that is, adequate and effective responses to the different challenges faced by societies including, among other, housing, employment, infrastructure, public services, energy saving and, more recently, environmental and digitalization strategies (Kourtit et al, 2021;Acs et al, 2022).…”

“…restriction is especially attractive because pie shares (w ij y ij ) reveal the contribution of each output to the CDI BOD , while allowing for weight heterogeneity within and between cities. Similar toCherchye et al (2008),Lafuente et al (2022a) andAcs et al (2022), L j and U j are the lower (1/5 × 0.25) and upper (1/5 × 1.25) bound of 'pie shares'. That is, cities can freely choose their output weights conditional on the two weight constraints in equation (1) (i.e., non-negativity and bounded 'pie shares'…”

Conceptualizing digital transformation using semantic decomposition

“…The world is facing a digital transformation (DT) triggered by the intensified prevalence and use of digital technologies that are fundamentally changing organizations and economies. Today's information age is dependent on different technologies based on the development of big data, algorithms, cloud computing, and social networks (Acs et al, 2022), and the market success of many businesses-whose competitive advantage mostly relies on digital technologies-is highly conditioned by their participation in digital platforms (Lafuente et al, 2022). However, the notion of DT is both theoretically and empirically underspecified (van Meeteren et al, 2022).…”

“…Moreover, conceptual clarity on DT is essential for equipping scholars and social planners with valid measurement instruments to strengthen research and policy action plans. For instance, governments should develop policies that facilitate the digitalization of society and economic activities (Lafuente et al, 2022), therefore, they have the responsibility of designing digital infrastructures and regulations that increase the efficiency of digital markets (Acs et al, 2022).…”