The use and application of ICT continues to be an important factor driving economic growth. The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with INSEAD, is pleased to announce the release of its fourth edition of the annual Global Information Technology Report - a comprehensive tool for measuring the progress of and identifying the obstacles to ICT development in over 100 countries worldwide. The Networked Readiness Index of the report provides the most comprehensive assessment of how prepared an economy is to capture the benefits of technology to promote economic growth and productivity. This study explicitly considers the roles played by the major stakeholders - individuals, businesses and governments, in relation to three dimensions: the environment for the development and use of ICT, the readiness of stakeholders to leverage the potential of ICT, and the degree of usage of ICT. The selection of essays, detailed country profiles for 104 economies and data tables on 70 different ICT indicators presented in the report provide a useful guide for the design and structure of policy measures for the key ICT stakeholders, individuals, businesses, and governments, in order to capture the benefits of ICT.
A. López-Claros
assessment benchmarking communication design development economic growth economy Global economy growth information Information Technology (IT) outsourcing productivity Public Sector telecommunications
'[The] Global Information Technology Report is a must-read for decision makers in the Information and Communications Technologies arena. It provides a valuable roadmap for public-private partnerships to continue progress towards a more equitable information society.' - Erkki Liikanen, Former European Commissioner for Enterprise and the Information Society
'The Global Information Technology Report series of the World Economic Forum aims to monitor the progress of networked readiness in more than 100 countries, highlighting the policy, institutional, and structural obstacles
that prevent countries from fully capturing the benefits of ICT. It is thus a benchmarking tool that also gauges the extent to which best practices are spreading all over the world. Beyond the mere provision of an annual international cross-section of networked readiness, the publication of the Report also may be seen as a vehicle whereby governments, businesses and individuals can assess progress on a regular basis.' - Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum