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| UN : UNCTAD E-Commerce and Development Report 2003 | ||||
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| The E-Commerce and Development Report 2003 just released by UNCTAD ‘presents the state of the art in e-commerce and ICT [information and communication technologies] and discusses how it can be applied to developing countries’. Now in its third annual edition, this influential UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) report was published on 20 November 2003. The first three chapters suggests that the world economy is becoming an ICT-based economy, reviews the evidence and range of views on the link between ICTs and economic development in both developed and developing countries, and introduces a model framework for the formulation of a national ICT strategy in developing countries. Chapter four looks at free and open-source software (FOSS) and the implications for ICT development and policy, whilst chapter five looks at the outsourcing of business processes for economic development. Chapters six and seven examine the marketing of developing country agricultural exports via the Internet and the issue of online dispute resolution. ‘By critically reviewing the latest developments in ICT and the knowledge economy and examining their implications for developing countries,’ says the Executive Summary, the report is intended to ‘provide an analytical and empirical basis for appropriate decision making by policy makers in the field of ICT and e-business.’ The central thrust of the 2001 E-Commerce and Development Report was that ‘if developing countries do not embrace ICTs for development then they will fall further behind in the global economy’ (see UN: UNCTAD E-Commerce and Development Report). The 2002 edition warned that if the business-to-business (B2B) end of the market does not take off in developing countries, that e-commerce volumes there will remain “negligible”’, (see UN: UNCTAD E-Commerce and Development Report 2002). The first half of the report delves into the relationship between ICTs and economic development in developing countries. Chapter one examines global Internet trends, and chapter two looks at the implications for developing countries posed by ICT, the Internet and economic performance. The report charts the growth of Internet across the globe, and growth differentials between and within countries. Importantly, it observes that ‘no developing country seems to have regressed in its integration into the digital economy’. Chapter one ‘shows that the number of Internet users in the world reached 591 million in 2002, although the annual rate of growth slowed to 20 per cent. At the end of 2002, developing countries had 32 per cent of the world's Internet users, while North America and Europe accounted for as many as 89 per cent of the world’s Internet hosts. The average African Internet user still enjoys about 20 times less bandwidth capacity than the average European user, and 8.4 times less than a North American one.’ ‘Developing countries continue to experience faster growth in the number of Internet users, partly because of their demographic patterns (younger populations, faster overall population growth). At the end of 2002, developing countries had 32 per cent of the world’s Internet users, up from 28 per cent in 2001. If current trends continue, Internet users in developing countries could constitute 50 per cent of the world total in the next five years.’
As a basic premise, the report recognizes the positive role of ICT in the development process. Chapter two says that ‘it is now widely accepted by policy makers, enterprises and society at large that information and communications technologies (ICT) are at the centre of an economic and social transformation that is affecting all countries’. Going a step further, it adds ‘there is now growing agreement about the positive contribution of ICT to productivity growth’. There is ample evidence for increased productivity in developed countries, but the case is still unproven in developing countries and empirical evidence is scarce. The central argument is this: ‘through the application of ICT firms will become more competitive, new markets will be accessed and new employment opportunities created. All of this will result in the generation of wealth and sustainable economic growth…While ICT improve productivity in existing productive activities, they also make possible the emergence of new activities such as online outsourcing of services and the production of different types of ICT goods. These activities enable countries, including developing ones, to diversify their economies, enhance their export competitiveness and produce high-value-added services that boost the local economy.’ ICT Strategies for Development: a ‘strategy divide’ between developed and developing countries In chapter 3, ‘ICT Strategies for Development’, the report takes into account the constraints that developing countries face in adopting e-commerce and ICT, focuses on policies and strategies to address those constraints, and introduces a model framework for the formulation of a national ICT strategy. In its analysis of ICT strategies, the chapter points out that ‘elements and priorities of national ICT strategies might differ between developed and developing countries. Drawing on the work of Dr. Thaweesak Koanantakol, Director, NECTEC (Thailand) it suggests that there is a ‘strategy divide between developed and developing countries’.
‘For [less advanced] countries, enhancing awareness and public understanding of the benefits of ICT is often an important starting point in policy planning. Other priority areas for developing countries are basic access to ICT, low-cost hard- and software and the use of local-language Internet portals…In developed countries, business interests appear higher on the policy agenda… Businesses worry about issues such as competition, trust and security, interoperability, intellectual property and an open market environment. Since the telecommunications sector is largely in private hands, infrastructure and access are less of an issue for policy debate. Other priority areas for developed countries may include issues such as broadband access, the building of regional networks, market exchange, and crossborder certification. Recognition of a strategy divide between developed and developing countries is important, as it helps to better target the specific needs of developing countries’. The model framework for the formulation of a national ICT strategy ‘focuses primarily on ebusiness policies and certain crosscutting policies – such as those related to developing telecommunications infrastructure or IT literacy and skills – that affect the information economy and the adoption of ICT by the business sector. This focus is based on the understanding that ICT as an enabler for economic development and growth deserves particular attention in national development frameworks. Through the application of ICT, firms will become more competitive, new markets will be accessed and new employment opportunities created. All of this will result in wealth generation, thus ensuring future sustainable economic growth’.
Resources: Excerpts from the E-Commerce and Development Report 2003 (document number UNCTAD/SDTE/ECB/2003/1) republished under copyright clearance.
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