DEVELOPMENT: Information Haves and Have Nots

By Gustavo Capdevila Reprint | | Print |

Gustavo Capdevila

GENEVA, Jan 11 1996 (IPS) - The dizzy rate of expansion in the information revolution has seen the market for associated technology expand from 745 billion dollars in 1985 to two trillion dollars a decade later.

However the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(UNCTAD) says not everyone is participating in this abundance – some of the developing nations, particularly the least developed, have been left out.

A recently released UNCTAD report warns that the great challenge at the turn of the century is preventing the low-income economies and the poorest social sectors from being marginalized in the information revolution. A world division with respect to information technology already is evident.

In one group are the leading countries in the information industry, which are counted among the world’s most industrialized nations.

A second category includes those countries that have developed some capacity to produce and apply the technology (including “hardware” and “software”) but that depend on the first group for technological development. This group consists of some Asian countries, a number of formerly socialist nations, and several Latin American countries.

The lowest rung is occupied by nations in which the application of information technology is still in an embryonic stage and that depend on imports for all their needs.

UNCTAD further notes that gaps exist not only between countries in their access to information technology but, perhaps even more importantly, between social sectors and groups within the same country.

The industrialized world – the United States, Western Europe and Japan – accounts for 90 percent of the information market. The rest of the world has 10 percent.

Some 20 major companies control 70 percent of the total business in this industry. Of these, 10 are from the United States, six are Japanese, and Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain are each represented by one firm.

The distributional inequities do not, in UNCTAD’s view, negate the value of information technology to society and to the efficient division of labor.

The report pointed out that the use of information technology in design, production and distribution has dramatically lowered costs for industry and to some extent for agriculture as well.

It cited the example of products that are designed in one place, engineered according to the electronically-transferred design in another country, assembled in a third nation, packaged in a fourth, and distributed in a fifth.

In addition, the combination of information technology and telecommunications has expanded the service industries, increasing the productivity, quality and efficiency of banks, business management, administration, and health services.

This combination has also improved the mobility and flexibility of capital movements and financial instruments.

UNCTAD noted that the industrialized nations have recognized the importance of access to information and its efficient dissemination, as demonstrated by the new alliances that governments and firms have forged to develop a global information infrastructure.

This attitude contrasts with that of some developing countries, the U.N. agency said, particularly among the least developed nations in Africa, where there is no national policy to diffuse information technology.

UNCTAD pointed out that today’s world information network is not truly global because not all countries have access to it.

To cover this gap, it proposes accelerating the dissemination and application of information technology in the developing world.

The report acknowledged the difficulty that poor countries have in gaining access to databases that are generally located in the industrialized nations of the North.

In the rich nations, computer networks and electronic mail give users access to national and international databases.

The entry of these services into the developing countries is much slower. Participating in a network like the Internet requires investment in support services and efficient telecommunications systems that are rarely available in the poor countries. Another obstacle in the high rates charged by the telecommunication monopolies in many countries.

UNCTAD also noted the proliferation of different technical standards and information systems, which makes users reluctant to acquire hardware or software that may become obsolete.

Finally, inadequate electrical service in many developing countries makes it difficult to operate equipment and can cause serious system damage and information losses.