Am Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts wandelt sich die alte Industriegesellschaft in eine digitale Wissensgesellschaft. In diesem Buch wird dieser grundlegende Wandel analysiert. Festnetz- und Mobilanwendungen des Internet werden vor dem Hintergrund der europaischen und globalen Deregulierung dargestellt. Aus empirischer Sicht werden erstmals die Wachstumseffekte der Telekommunikation fur Deutschland untersucht; zudem die Wirkungen des Internet fur Wachstum und Beschaftigung quantifiziert. Die Herausforderungen an die Wirtschaftspolitik werden in 10 Geboten fur die Internet- und Bildungspolitik...

Socialist economies in Eastern Europe have collapsed and em- barked upon market-oriented reforms. The causes of the demise of centrally planned economies are analyzed and the basic challenges of systemic tranformation discussed. Negative income and wealth effects as well as distribution issues make adjustment extremely difficult. The fundamental roles of privatization and foreign investment are adressed. Foreign economic liberalization is considered to be of centralimportance for a growth-oriented adjustment path in a stage of conflict-prone policy and options. Politico-economic aspects of...

John T. Addison and Paul J. J. Welfens Because inflation seems moribund in OECD countries, stubborn unemployment became the top policy priority of the 1990s. Unemployment has increased in many countries, reaching critical levels for unskilled and young workers in most continental EU countries. Europe's employment performance has continued to lag that in North America. The U. S. in particular achieved a remarkable combination of low inflation and full employment in the late 1990s, at a time when the EU suf fered from record unemployment rates, even if inflation was remarkably low. Since the...

Information & communication technology (ICT) and the automotive sector are two of the most important industries in the EU and the US. The EU's eastern expansion and economic globalization have reinforced competition on the one hand; on the other hand the importance of outsourcing and off-shoring has increased. Against this background the intensification of innovation dynamics becomes crucial - and with them the role of regional innovation clusters. The analysis examines seven regions and six EU countries. The focus is on cluster and network dynamics in both industries, as regional ICT...