Global Information Technology Report & LA GRIETA DIGITAL

The Global Information Technology Report

Luego de traerles ayer una parte de este informe sobre la Tecnología de la Información, leí hoy un excelente artículo de Fernando Iglesias en La Nación, cuya parte medular reproduzco aquí mismo, porque me parece que el informe y la visión que nos trae Iglesias confluyen y son muy importantes para que avancemos un escalón hacia arriba y podamos mirar un poco más allá de nuestra comidilla política de todos los días.

                                     Mauricio López Dardaine

"...la Argentina está partida a la mitad por una grieta, pero la comprensión de esta división en términos de kirchnerismo-antikirchnerismo es sólo la espuma de la espuma. La grieta, la verdadera grieta que divide al país, es la que separa a la parte de la sociedad argentina que ha sido capaz de entrar con éxito al siglo XXI y los despojos que los fracasos del siglo XIX y XX han dejado esparcidos por el territorio nacional.

De un lado de la grieta argentina se encuentran los sectores que han conseguido insertarse en el emergente mundo global y postindustrial en el que el valor es trabajo intelectual agregado en forma de conocimientos, información, diversidad cultural, comunicación, innovación y subjetividad, y en el que la riqueza es generada por la inteligencia humana aplicada.

Hablo del campo, que produce valor usando organismos genéticamente modificados, tractores guiados por computadoras y conectividad portuaria y digital; de los medios de comunicación, componente central del sistema de circulación de informaciones; de algunos campeones siderúrgicos y automotrices de alto nivel científico-tecnológico; de pequeñas joyas como los sectores de servicios informáticos, biogenética y las mal llamadas industrias culturales. Y hablo, sobre todo, de la enorme población de empleados, docentes, profesionales y gerentes cuyo trabajo consiste en la captación, procesamiento y comunicación de conocimientos e informaciones.

Significativamente, todos estos sectores están integrados al sistema global de producción de valor, son económicamente viables y sobrevivirían si se los trasplantara al mundo avanzado. Con sus enormes limitaciones y defectos, son la naciente Argentina del siglo XXI.

 

We usually discuss here either world and regional trade or issues related to Sustainable Development. However, I feel the foreword to this IT report reaches into the realm of trade, and cannot be ignored when dealing with sustainable development. So I here bring to you  the complete foreword. This in turn may prompt you to read part of the full report; see footnote(1) for actual source.

Mauricio López Dardaine

“Ever since Adam Smith first proposed the theory of absolute advantage enjoyed by a country in producing a good or service, policymakers have sought to build and maintain such an advantage in key sectors of their economies. What has become increasingly clear over the past 12 years that the World Economic Forum and INSEAD have been publishing this Global Information Technology Report[1] is the role that information communication technologies (ICTs), and specifically digitization, plays in the potential development and maintenance of absolute advantage.

“Digitization—the mass adoption of connected digital services by consumers, enterprises, and governments— is far more than a disruptive wave washing over isolated industries. We have long since recognized that reality. Digitization is a fundamental driver of economic growth and job creation the world over—in both developed and emerging markets. And that is not hollow rhetoric—it is confirmed by econometric analysis that Booz & Company has conducted to quantify the actual impact of digitization on a country’s economic output (GDP) and employment. In fact, we have created a Digitization Index that scores a country’s digitization level on a scale of 0 to 100. This level-setter allows us to go beyond the anecdotal evidence of the transformational impact of ICTs and actually measure that impact on economic and social factors on a comparative basis. The headline is powerful: despite the continued sluggishness of economies across the globe, digitization boosted world economic output by nearly US$200 billion and created 6 million jobs in 2011.

“Specifically, our analysis reveals that an increase of 10 percent in a country’s digitization score drives a 0.75 percent growth in its GDP per capita. That same 10 percent boost in digitization leads to a 1.02 percent drop in a state’s unemployment rate. These benefits grow as a country moves along the digitization continuum—in other words, increased digitization yields improving returns. Although the net effect of digitization is positive, as you begin analyzing the data by country and sector, certain tradeoffs become apparent. For example, advanced-stage economies in North America and Western Europe, for a number of reasons, realize fewer employment benefits than developing economies as their digitization level increases. Their productivity improves; some jobs get replaced by technologies; and lower-value-added, labor-intensive jobs go overseas to emerging markets where labor is cheaper. On a sector-by-sector basis, you see the same effect in highly digitized industries such as financial services and manufacturing.

“Thus no universal prescriptions are available for realizing the full socioeconomic benefits of digitization— the right formula will vary by country and industry. But there is no question that the benefits are there to be realized, and they are substantial for the foresighted and sure-footed. The lesson for policymakers and national leaders is clear: having laid the necessary groundwork by building out broadband infrastructure and ensuring access, it is now time to differentiate around distinctive opportunities and capabilities. Governments have a role to play as digital market makers. That means making deliberate choices about what sectors furnish the best opportunity for that absolute advantage Adam Smith described and focusing on them. It means understanding the tradeoffs between job creation and productivity that increasing digitization brings, and creating mechanisms to offset potential job losses. Finally, it means understanding what capabilities you must bring as a policymaker to advancing your country’s digitization agenda. Do you need to play the role of direct developer, financier, or facilitator? There are successful models of all three capability sets in practice today around the world. You have only to open your eyes and apply the right capabilities lens to chart the right path forward. This year’s Global Information Technology Report will illuminate the way.”

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[1] The Global Information Technology Report 2013 Growth and Jobs in a Hyperconnected World,

Beñat Bilbao-Osorio, Soumitra Dutta, and Bruno Lanvin, Editors