Asahi News Service
July 12, 2000
Reportedly, the number of Internet users in the world has been increasing by 150,000 every day. Many of them live in developed countries. Investment per person into the information infrastructure in the developed countries is six times as large as that of the developing countries. The discrepancy in the amount of information and investment continues to grow.
If nothing is done about it, the developing world will be left behind and the world economy will be distorted to an even greater extent. It is meaningful that the leaders of the developed countries have a common understanding of the problem and discuss measures to remedy the situation.
A specialized committee of the United Nations proposed a plan to set up "telephone centers" in villages of developing countries so that everybody can use phones and the Internet. The World Bank and the United Nations Development Program have also begun similar projects.
Information technology may offer a means for solving some of the problems besetting the developing countries. For instance, it may make it possible for remote villages to communicate with the rest of the world through satellite telephone and exchange information with people in other places. It may be possible for villagers to learn state-of-the-art technology and create new industries. And it may make the work of governments, such as tax collection and registration of land, more efficient.
If the reality fails to fulfill the ideal, however, people might become cynical. The failure may even harm low-key efforts for development.
Senior officials of the World Bank and the United Nations often talk about the wide use of information technology in the developing world.
For instance, they talk about the possibility of African farmers trading wheat after finding its price in the Chicago market through mobile telephones.
While it is true that farming in the developing countries is at the mercy of the world markets, however, what deals can be made by villagers in Africa and South Asia where there are not enough roads and electricity, let alone financial resources?
The software industry in India is often cited as an example of success. Unbridled commendation is not warranted, however. Many Indian technicians are said to hail from upper castes, whose members have the benefit of higher education. Information technology expands inequality in income between the rich and the poor while promoting growth of regional economies as a whole.
It is too optimistic to think that industries and technologies in developed countries that move in the direction of "post-industrial society" can be transferred to agricultural societies.
To correct the "digital divide," it is most important to make steady efforts and provide assistance to eradicate the poverty of vast numbers of people.
Some gadgets may be handy but they will simply be mere white elephants if they are not useful in the daily lives of the people.
Economic assistance to developing countries must be in accord with the stages of development in the recipient countries. Information technology will be an effective tool in education and vocational training in Southeast Asian countries.
In sub-Sahara countries that are left behind by the globalized economy, AIDS runs rampant and there are endless ethnic and religious conflicts. Those countries must be given comprehensive aid, coupled with such measures as preferential abolition of tariffs and incentives to encourage foreign investment.
Information technology can be an instrument to make economic development in the developing countries more efficient. Yet the developed countries should desist from enshrining it as the major item in assistance and talking about unrealistic dreams.
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