The Internet Revolution A Global Perspective

Information technology (IT) has become a constant presence in contemporary life, infiltrating community, business and state affairs. This book discusses applications and consequences of IT in developing and advanced countries, focusing on the ways in which IT has changed society via the so-called Internet revolution. It examines the characteristics of network economies; Internet access; changes in supply chains; productivity increases; and the digital divide. It ranges through the U.K., European Union, Central and Eastern Europe, U.S., Japan, India, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and China.

Information technology has become a constant presence in contemporary life, infiltrating community, business and state affairs. This book discusses the uses and problems of IT in both developing and advanced countries, focusing on the ways in which IT changes society without neglecting the problematic aspects of the Internet revolution such as computer crime and the lack of professionals with computer literacy, particularly from a developing country's perspective. It examines such issues as the characteristics of network economies, connectivity pricing, Internet access, regulation, changes in supply chains, IT gaps between supply and demand, productivity increases, and the digital divide. Emanuele Giovannetti, Mitsuhiro Kagami and Masatsugu Tsuji have gathered together a group of international experts in economics and trade who discuss the impact of this revolution globally, looking at countries or regions including the UK, EU, Central and Eastern Europe, USA, Japan, India, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and China.

List of figures; List of tables; List of contributors; Preface; Introduction Emanuele Giovannetti, Mitsuhiro Kagami and Masatsugu Tsuji; 1. Transformation of the Japanese system towards a network economy Masatsugu Tsuji; 2. The IT revolution and its meaning for society Mitsuhiro Kagami; 3. The IT revolution and telecommunications infrastructure Masatsugu Tsuji; 4. International division of labour in East Asia's IT industry Hiromi Ohki; 5. Electronic industry in Asia: the changing supply chain and its effects Yasushi Ueki; 6. IT diffusion in Southeast Asia: the cases of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand Norihiko Yamada; 7. The IT revolution, the internet and telecommunications: the transition towards a competitive industry in the European Union Emanuele Giovannetti; 8. Globalising information? The IT revolution in Central and Eastern Europe Tanga McDaniel; 9. Human capital in the move up the value chain: the case of Indian software and services industry Paul Kattuman and Kumar Iyer; 10. Internet access and regulatory reform: the experience of South Africa Emanuele Giovannetti; 11. The IT revolution in the USA: the current situation and problems Soon-Yong Choi and Andrew B. Whinston; 12. The effects of the IT revolution on firms and the global economy Soon-Yong Choi and Andrew B. Whinston; 13. Internet-based globalisation and international division of labour Soon-Yong Choi and Andrew B. Whinston; Conclusion Emanuele Giovannetti, Mitsuhiro Kagami and Masatsugu Tsuji; Index.

Information technology has become a constant presence in contemporary life, infiltrating community, business and state affairs. This book discusses the uses and problems of IT in both developing and advanced countries, focusing on the ways in which IT changes society (the so-called Internet revolution).

EMANUELE GIOVANNETTI is Research Associate at the Department of Applied Economics, University of Cambridge and New Scholar of the CEPR.
MITSUHIRO KAGAMI is Executive Vice President of the Institute of Developing Economies in the Japan External Trade Organization.
MASATSUGU TSUJI is Dean and Professor of Economics at the Osaka School of International Public Policy, Osaka University, Japan.