Mind the Digital Gap: The Role of Regional-Level General and Digital Human Capital in Shaping ICT Use of Different Types of Entrepreneurs

Juan D. Ramos-Poyatos (), Jorge Barrientos-Marín (), Ana Millán (), José María Millán () and André Stel ()
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Juan D. Ramos-Poyatos: Quantitative Methods and Economic History, Pablo de Olavide University
Jorge Barrientos-Marín: University of Antioquia
Ana Millán: Pablo de Olavide University
José María Millán: University of Huelva
André Stel: Trinity College Dublin

Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 2025, vol. 16, issue 3, No 17, 11445-11483

Abstract: Abstract We investigate determinants of the frequency of ICT usage of three types of self-employed workers—self-employed with employees, independent own-account self-employed, and dependent self-employed workers—in 305 European NUTS-2 regions. Besides individual-level determinants, we also investigate the role of regional-level general human capital and of regional-level digital human capital, which capture distinct sources of regional knowledge spillovers. Our results show clear evidence for both types of spillover effects to exist. Moreover, we find that these effects also contribute to a convergence process in ICT use frequency (i) among the three types of self-employed within a given region and (ii) among regions.

Keywords: ICT usage frequency; Regional knowledge spillovers; Entrepreneurs’ types; Europe (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J24 L26 L53 O30 O52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s13132-024-02100-x

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