Résumé
The digital transition began around thirty years ago and has failed to deliver on all its promises. Although digital technology offers many benefits and opportunities, the expected effects on economic growth andproductivity have not occurred. In addition, digital technologies can negatively impact households through privacy issues, increased inequality, and environmental degradation. This thesis aims to study and highlight some of the impacts of the digital transition. The first part focuses on impacts from a macro-economic point of view, while the second part considers the micro-economic aspect to highlight heterogeneity between individuals. Empirical and theoretical methodologies are used throughout this thesis.The first chapter provides a literature review on Solow’s paradox, according to which digital technologies are omnipresent in our societies but have a limited impact on economic growth. After defining the main characteristics of the digital transition, we examine its similarities and differences with the first two industrial revolutions. The various barriers hindering the impact of digital technology on economic growth are then presented. Finally, the recent hypothesis that the impact of the digital transition is not on economic growth but directly on individual well-being is developed. The current measurement tools would no longer be appropriate, especially with the spread of numerous free digital services that are not directly taken into account in GDP.The second chapter proposes a growth model, including the free digital services sector. Digital service providers collect users’ data to generate revenue to sell a personalized advertising service. This model enables us to study the impact of this sector on the primary macroeconomic aggregates and well-being. Particular emphasis is devoted to the importance of users’ data and attention, sensitivity to privacy, and the market structure of the digital sector. We highlight that free digital services can have an impact on well-being and several economic implications for the final goods sector without impacting economic growth.The third chapter investigates the determinants of the digital divide in France. We use pseudo-panel methods and the Insee’s Information and Communication Technology surveys between 2007 and 2019. Our results highlight a heterogeneity in internet access and use that depends mainly on individuals’ generation, income, and degree levels. Once an individual has access to and uses the internet, the disparities in the type of internet use are weak. The fight against the digital divide must, therefore, focus on individuals who do not have access to the internet. To this end, the final part of this chapter examines the reasons behind non-access to the internet and concludes that the two main barriers to access are lack of skills and cost.The production and use of digital technology cause environmental degradation that needs to be regulated. However, as highlighted in the third chapter, internet access and use are still unevenly distributed. The fourth chapter aims to study the distributive impact and effectiveness of an environmental tax on mobile data. First, we estimate a demand system (the censored Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System) to obtain the price elasticities of various French household goods from the 2017 Insee Family Budget survey. This enables us to determine and simulate households’ reaction to an increase in mobile internet prices according to their income decile. Calculating the welfare loss following a tax on mobile subscriptions shows that this regulation is regressive and could exacerbate the digital divide. In the second part, we show theoretically that the tax’s effectiveness depends on the supply structure of telecommunications.
Source: http://www.theses.fr/2023PA100085
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