ICT demand behaviour: an international comparison

This study aims to provide some empirical explanations for the gaps in information and communication technologies (ICT) diffusion between industrialized countries and especially between European countries and the USA. National macro-economic panel data are mobilized for 11 OECD countries over the 1981--2005 period. The analysis is based on factor demand estimates. It provides some original results: (i) the impact on ICT diffusion is positive for the level of education and negative for market rigidities, and both increased over time (in absolute terms) until mid-1990s; (ii) in each country, the price-elasticity of demand for ICT decreased (in absolute terms) over time, from 2 at the beginning of the 1980s to 1 in the middle of the 2000s.