Call For Papers

Mobile payments and mobile money

Dossier to be published in no. 79 – 3^rd quarter 2010

Edited by Marc BOURREAU & James ALLEMAN

The wide adoption of mobile services in developed and developing countries as well as technical progress in mobile handsets have enabled mobile phones to become a potential means of payment.
In developed countries, where the market for mobile telephony is mature, mobile payments are seen as a potential source of revenue by mobile operators, who are trying to diversify their services. They are also viewed by the banking sector as an improvement over existing payment solutions. However, apart from a few success stories (like the contactless payment solution launched by NTT DoCoMo in Japan), so far the development of mobile payments has been slow in developed countries.
In developing countries, where mobile telephony is also widely adopted, mobile payments are seen by the governments as an opportunity to improve access to banking services for the unbanked population. Indeed, in all developing countries, the number of mobiles far exceeds the number of fixed line phones. The positive economic impact of the improved infrastructure has been demonstrated. Concurrently, the ability of micro-finance has been shown to stimulate and enhance economic activity. Now a hybrid of the technologies has begun to emerge: mobile money for the unbanked (MMU). The cell phone serves as a bank account, debit card, and money. The ubiquity of cell phone service, coupled with the notion of micro-finance offers the possibility of service in remote areas of a country where it would be otherwise economically unsustainable to provide banking services. Mobile money has all of the attributes of money including store of value and medium of exchange. Mobile money replaces the inefficiency of barter and the problem of the "double coincidence of wants." Just as with currency, security and counterfeiting will be issues. Kenya already has nearly seven million or 38 percent of its cellular customers using a mobile-money system (Economist, 24 September 2009). Other countries are using mobile money systems.
This dossier will address the economics and policy issues of mobile payments and mobile money, in developed and developing countries:
• What are the possible business models for mobile payment solutions?
• What are the economics of mobile money?
• What policy issues does mobile payments or mobile money raise?
• Are they a threat to the traditional banking system?
• How should they be regulated?
• Has mobile money demonstrated any economics impact yet?
What can we learn from the micro-finance literature?

Please send proposals (full papers) on 23 May 2010 at the latest, to:
s.nigon@idate.org

 

Broadband for All

Dossier to be published in no. 80 – 4^th quarter 2010

Edited by Ken DUCATEL & Marc LEBOURGES

In a few short years access to high speed internet services has become all but essential to full participation in society. Not only is such access necessary for basic services such as communication by email and for surfing the web but government services are often now much more easily available on line than through traditional over-the-counter services. In the short term, it is expected that other essential services such as ehealth and telemedicine will rise in importance, nor least because the ageing of the population in many developed economies is promoting a search for cost effective care in their own homes for people with chronic medical conditions. In addition, online information and participation in societal affairs over the internet is growing in importance.
These developments raise the question as to whether access to broadband has not become a basic right. The best mechanisms for assuring universal broadband coverage and penetration are however not the same in one place as another. In some countries effective 100% coverage has been achieved without direct political intervention. Licence coverage obligations may also contribute to geographical coverage, as can be observed in mobile markets Elsewhere, different approaches for achieving universality have been tried ranging from spectrum licences with overage obligations, grants and loans to attract investments into underserved areas, through subsidies for take-up in order to increase effective demand to the establishment of a sectoral universal service fund. In a few countries this right has been formally recognized in a universal service obligation and other countries are considering such steps. These different approaches have different impacts on competition depending on the nature of the broadband services provided (e.g. the minimum speed defined as necessary), the geography of networks, the effectiveness of competition and the capacity and willingness of public authorities to invest where markets fail.
Comparing the relative performances of fixed and mobile markets regarding coverage and of penetration may also bring light on the impact of market structures on the universality of service.
The papers of this C&S dossier will address both theoretical and empirical aspects of achieving broadband for all, including:
• Critical analysis of the logic for intervening in the provision of broadband: why should the state get involved?
• Timing issues
• Central vs. decentralised responsibility in BB for all policies
• Pros and cons of technological neutrality in the provision of BB, taking into account differences in performances and in costs of technologies
• Analyses of the impact of different mechanisms (e.g. market structure, obligation, grants, state provision, stimulation of demand) for achieving 100% broadband coverage especially as regards outcomes and effect on competition
• Critical review of experiences with universal service regimes and other broadband for all policies so far.
• The economic efficiency trade-offs between a 100% target versus coverage targets of high speed broadband for a more modest proportion of the population
• Cost benefit analysis of pursuing high coverage targets versus the stimulation of take-up, given that more than 50% of potential subscribers do not take-up broadband.
• BB service price, e-literacy, computer financial and cultural affordability as critical parameters of universal BB penetration
• Rationales for choosing certain speeds over others in terms of the functionality of internet services
• Ability of different policy regimes to accommodate the trend towards faster broadband and to accommodate an eventual shift to next generation access
• The prospective roles of fixed and wireless modes of access
• Likely impact of changes in legal frameworks on the roll-out of broadband for all.

Please send proposals (full papers) on 31 May 2010 at the latest, to:
s.nigon@idate.fr

 Submission of papers