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Global Information Technology Report 2001-2002

Note that several of the chapters of this report are available for download on the Website listed below. I've read parts of it and there's lots of interesting stuff there.
Mark

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From: E_Development@ksg.harvard.edu
Subject: Release of Global Information Technology Report 2001-2002
Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2002 15:10:52 -0500

We are pleased to announce the release of the Global Information Technology Report 2001-2002: Readiness for the Networked World. This report, available in print in mid-March from Oxford University Press, is a joint publication of the Center for International Development at Harvard University and the World Economic Forum.

There are three main elements of the Report: a series of individually authored thematic chapters related to issues of ICTs and developing countries, 75 national ICT profiles, and extensive data related to ICTs globally. The Report also develops a Networked Readiness Index that ranks 75 countries on their ability to leverage ICT networks. The Report is meant to expand our analytic understanding of the Networked World through both quantitative and qualitative analysis. Themes such as rural ICT development, telecommunications reform, ICTs and education, business practice and trade policy and patterns are examined in depth.

Below you can find the press release from the Report's release this week at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in New York.

Much of report is available on our website at
http://www.cid.harvard.edu/cr/gitrr_030202.html

We look forward to feedback and comments on the Report.

Regards,

Geoffrey Kirkman

Managing Editor, The Global Information Technology Report 2001-2002

Press Release

Harvard University and World Economic Forum Release Most Comprehensive International Study to Date of Information Technology Use and Issues Around the World

The United States, Northern Europe and Singapore lead the world in "Networked Readiness."

4 February 2002 - New York

The World Economic Forum and the Center for International Development (CID) at Harvard University today released The Global Information Technology Report 2001-2002: Readiness for the Networked World (GITR), a comprehensive and wide-ranging international study of the state of information technology around the world.

Amidst the political and economic turbulence that has coincided with the bursting of the dot.com bubble, the first GITR reinforces that information and communication technologies (ICTs) remain a powerful and important force for positive change in the world. The Report tackles the challenging issue of Networked Readiness - the preparedness of countries to participate in the Networked World.

Professor Klaus Schwab, President of the World Economic Forum, points out, "The importance of Networked Readiness, at the regional and national levels, has gained prominence on the public policy agenda alongside the realization that the tools provided by ICTs can help countries fulfil their national potential and enable a better quality of life for their citizens."

"Effective policy formulation and business practice leading to economic development requires that we move beyond mere anecdotal evidence or instinctual decision-making," says Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of Harvard's CID. "Through rigorous analysis and research we have developed a better understanding of Networked Readiness in this Report."

As Peter Cornelius, Director of the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Programme, summarizes, "the Report represents an ambitious first step towards understanding how ICTs are being used around the world, and what opportunities and challenges remain. This is an important volume."

The Report addresses the major opportunities and obstacles that global leaders face as they try to more fully participate in the Networked World.

The Report bases its findings in three main areas:

The first Networked Readiness Index (NRI) ranks 75 countries according to their capacity to take advantage of ICT networks. Higher ranked countries have more highly developed ICT networks and greater potential to exploit the capacity of those networks. The United States ranks 1st on the NRI. Iceland ranks 2nd, Finland and Sweden are slightly further behind, followed by Norway and the Netherlands. Another Northern European country, Denmark, ranks 7th, followed by Singapore in 8th, Austria in 9th and the United Kingdom in 10th place. Further down in the rankings, Japan ranks 21st, only slightly ahead of Estonia (23rd), which is in turn ranked ahead of France, Italy and Spain, ranked at 24th, 25th and 26th, respectively.

75 in-depth Networked Readiness country profiles document the major national and sub-national ICT trends. Countries around the world are grappling with major challenges. These include urban-rural splits in ICT usage, getting small and medium businesses online, high Internet access prices, crafting effective telecommunications policy, and shortages of skilled ICT workers.

In-depth analysis by some of the world?s leading experts on the Networked World, from organizations such as McKinsey & Co, INSEAD, Forrester Research, the Media Lab at MIT, Sun Microsystems, the World Bank, Harvard University, the Institute for International Economics, the International Trade Center, and the World Economic Forum. The authors tackle such important themes as telecommunications and educational reform, the microeconomic impact of ICTs, ICT trade policy, business leadership and rural development.

"Our analysis suggests that the ability of a country to be successful in the Networked World depends not only on its income level," says the Report's Managing Editor, Geoffrey Kirkman of Harvard University, "but also on key enabling factors such as telecommunications policy, the business climate and the educational system."

Countries such as Bangladesh, India and Bolivia are all leaders in Networked Readiness relative to their income levels. On the other hand, France and Japan are examples of countries that have lower levels of Networked Readiness relative to income.

The Global Information Technology Report 2001-2002, published by Oxford University Press, is produced in partnership with infoDev, a multi-donor programme of the World Bank. In close cooperation with infoDev, the World Economic Forum and Harvard University plan to organize international workshops to share and apply the findings in a policy context, thereby transforming the Report into a platform for policy discussions among the government leaders, business groups, non-governmental organizations and other important stakeholders in the development process.

For further information, please contact Peter Cornelius, Director, Global Competitiveness Programme, World Economic Forum (41) 22 869 1239 or peter.cornelius@weforum.org) or Geoffrey Kirkman, Managing Director of the Information Technologies Group, Center for International Development (CID), Harvard University (1 617) 496 3210 or geoffrey_kirkman@harvard.edu).

Additional information on the Global Information Technology Report can be found at http://www.cid.harvard.edu/cr/gitrr_030202.html
__________________________________________
The World Economic Forum, based in Geneva, Switzerland, is an independent organization committed to improving the state of the world. Funded by the contributions of 1,000 of the world's foremost corporations, the Forum acts in the spirit of entrepreneurship in the global public interest to further economic growth and social progress. The Forum serves its members and society by creating partnerships between and among business, political, intellectual and other leaders of society to define, discuss and advance key issues on the global agenda.

Incorporated in 1971 as a foundation, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit, and is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. In 1995 the Forum was awarded NGO consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

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