ICT Use and Productivity: A Synthesis from Studies of Australian Firms

CONTENTS

Preliminaries
Cover, Copyright, Foreword, Working papers produced for the project, Contents, Acknowledgments, Abbreviations, Key points, Summary

1   Background, issues and approach
1.1   The OECD multi-country firm-level study
1.2   The Australian project
1.3   This paper

2   Australia's rapid uptake of ICT
2.1   The evolution of ICT as a general-purpose technology for business innovation
2.2   The uplift in ICT investment
2.3   International perspective

3   Why have firms invested more in ICT?
3.1   Four major influences on the costs and benefits of ICT use
3.2   Firm size has made a difference
3.3   The importance of competition
3.4   International studies of factors influencing ICT uptake

4   ICT and productivity: a broad perspective
4.1   Nature of performance effects - input substitution and innovation effects
4.2   Estimates of effects on input growth
4.3   Estimates of effects on MFP growth
4.4   Accounting for labour productivity growth
4.5   International perspective

5   How has ICT affected firm performance?
5.1   Sources of performance gains - illustrations from firms’ experience
5.2   Econometric analysis of firm-level performance
5.3   Findings from international research

6   Why firms differ
6.1   Differences in the scope for application and innovation
6.2   Human and organisational capital

7   Tapping ICT’s productivity potential
7.1   Prospects for further uptake and productive use of ICTs
7.2   The central role of firms
7.3   Factors that might hinder uptake and productive use of ICTs
7.4   Issues for governments
7.5   Conclusion

References