The Role of Information and Communication Technologies in Paper Consumption

Abstract

Conventionally paper demand is modelled by using only gross domestic product and the price of paper as explanatory variables. However, one factor affecting the demand of printing and writing papers is presumably the diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICT). In this paper, the regression analysis model and large global scale panel data sets from 1990–2007 are used to analyse the effect of ICT on paper demand for three paper grades: newsprint, office paper, and magazine paper. Results show that the internet is a substitute for newsprint, and possibly for magazine paper, and mobile telephones are complementary, and a growing number of personal computers increases office paper consumption.