Net Benefit Guaranteed Electronic Markets: the Ultimate Potential of Online Trade

This book explores the possible creation and impact of electronic markets underpinned by government. How far could electronic trade go? The author outlines a world in which open online marketplaces are routinely used to trade everything from office space to bicycle rental between individuals. Each transaction would be guaranteed by the system, not the reputation of the seller. Anyone could enter the market as an equal. The author argues that the electronic marketplaces of the future will have widespread and fundamental economic and social consequences. For more information about Guaranteed Electronic Markets visit the Gems Website at www.gems.org.uk

Introduction: A New Frontier for Electronic Trade PART 1: HOW A GUARANTEED ELECTRONIC MARKETS SYSTEM MIGHT WORK Demonstration: Hiring Accommodation for a Night Demonstration: Connected Transactions - Hiring a Van and Driver A Public Electronic Market for Capital PART 2: A NEW CAPITALISM: THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF GUARANTEED ELECTRONIC MARKETS Portfolio Working Available to All Empowered Consumers Diminished Functions for Government PART 3: E-TRADE BECOMES POLITICISED: THE BATTLE FOR GUARANTEED MARKETS Likely Support for Government Backed Markets: the Coming Limitations of E-commerce How a Government could Instigate a Guaranteed Electronic Markets System PART 4: BUSINESS IN AN AGE OF GUARANTEED ELECTRONIC MARKETS Could Business Hold Out Against the New Marketplace ? Responding to a New Flexibility Appendices

WINGHAM ROWAN is the producer and host of British television's long running series covering stories from the Internet, Cyber Cafe. Since the early 1990s he has been researching the possibility of electronic markets for public use with the help of key figures in online trading worldwide.