The New Economy in Development2006

Within the last three decades, industrialization, and manufacturing in particular, has decreased in importance as the principal driver of economic growth and development in the world economy. The expansion of the service sector in industrialized societies reflects the increasing significance of the 'weightless' economy and information and communication technologies (ICT) in the process of wealth generation. While most developing countries remain outside the orbit of these structural shifts, several developing countries have not only successfully filled the manufacturing niches vacated by the OECD economies but several are also experiencing growth in the ICT-driven service sector. In this collection an international mix of academics and policy-makers address the implications of ICT and the new service-driven economy on developing countries, examining its importance and addressing challenges that confront those that have embraced these approaches. Examining the links between ICT and globalization, this collection reveals how ICT can enhance economic growth, government efficiency, transparency and accountability, but also how the persistence of old economy problems, such as poverty, inequality, illiteracy and infrastructure may mean that investment in ICT is unlikely to have a developmental impact.