What drives the production and diffusion of mobile apps? An international investigation

Abstract

Mobile apps have proliferated online in recent years, but related formal research has lagged behind. Using data on a large sample of nations over the years 2018-2020, we estimate the drivers of mobile app production. Results show that more mobile subscribers (capturing demand-pull effects) increase mobile app production. However, overall E-participation fails to exert a significant influence. Both FDI inflows and ICT imports contribute to mobile app production, as do the inputs and outputs of overall technological change (patents, researchers, and knowledge workers). These results contrast with the (mostly insignificant) results for capital formation and the rule of law.

Do weak institutions undermine global innovation production efficiency?

“…In framing institutions with regard to technological change, such as patent policy, policymakers have to consider the potential wedge between the social and private returns to inventive efforts (Griliches, 1992;Haruna & Goel, 2011). This is due to wasteful duplication in innovation races, the skewness of research or inventive effort towards certain technologies at the expense of others, and the lack of measurability of certain research efforts (i.e., when certain inventions are not patented or are unpatentable-e.g., Blanco et al, 2023). The benefit-cost accounting of appropriate research effort is complicated due to inherent uncertainty related to innovation success and payoffs, plus the inability to completely reap the rewards of most research efforts.…”