COVID-19 acceleration in digitalisation, aggregate productivity growth and the functional income distribution

Abstract

This paper characterises the conventional and the digital sector of the EU economy since the late 90s and introduces a two sector growth model which highlights structural differences between the two sectors. In contrast to conventional goods and services, digital goods and services are more easily scalable but require more upfront intangible investment. These features require consideration of fixed costs and a departure from perfect competition and raise issues about market entry. Another important dimension is the skill demand of both sectors, with the latter requiring a larger share of workers with digital skills. Since COVID-19 is expected to induce a persistent increase of demand for digital services, we use this model to estimate the likely economic impacts. We are in particular interested how the digital transition is affecting the labour market and the functional distribution of income. The paper shows how the distribution of economic rents between workers with digital skills and platforms is determined by labour supply conditions and entry barriers. This suggests that there is a role for competition policy and labour market policies to support the digital transition.

Navigating through entrepreneurial skills, competencies and capabilities: a systematic literature review and the development of the entrepreneurial ability model

“…This should be considered when new training and courses are developed in higher education so that the abilities required are embedded in the overall training or educational curriculum path (Postuła and Majczyk, 2018). This enquiry highlights the critical role of universities in providing specialised micro-credentialing training and university educational programs that must fulfil the demands of the government agency's upskilling and reskilling programs (Chaturvedi and Karri, 2022;Chhatwani et al, 2022;Deloitte, 2020;Döhring et al, 2021;Ferrari, 2012;Liñ an and Ja en, 2020;OECD, 2019aOECD, , 2019b, such as those promoted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the establishment of a synergic relationship between academic and industry sector is fundamental to make this happening.…”

Infodemiological study on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on increased headache incidences at the world level

“…The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is being dubbed a Black-Swan event 1 , with significant socio-economic consequences 2 – 5 , and of high impact on physical and psychological health 6 – 8 . It is thus widely recognized that COVID-19 has affected health and wellbeing globally, and its impact is multi-faceted 9 , 10 .…”

Activity-to-Skills Framework in the Intellectual Property Big Data Era

“…Our findings relate to stable economic conditions, and a longitudinal study could be helpful to identify whether changes caused by Covid-19, its immediate uncertainties and the subsequent recovery needs have affected also the IP skillset required. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has also caused a noticeable acceleration toward digitalization and immediate adoption of new technologies identified [6], [92]. Therefore, we anticipate that data skills will be even more important in the future.…”