Treading Different Paths

Despite heated debate on the nature of changes brought by the widespread use of information and information technologies, few dispute their growing importance in economy and trade. More often than not, it is the benefit that they promised to bring that attracts policymakers' attention. For developed nations, information technology is is regarded as essential in ensuring growth and superiority over other nations, while, for developing nations, they bring new hopes for leapfrogging in economic development and repositioning in the international trade market and power structure. The opportunities are undoubtedly rare and highly attractive, but the accompanying challenges are also phenomenal: to achieve growth as the major source of economic income changes from producing consumer goods to information products. To Third World nations, there is the added challenge of accelerating development by acquiring and effectively using information and technology resources mostly developed elsewhere. This book examines the significance of informatization and the changes that are taking place in Asian nations. Studying nine Third World countries, it focuses on the way their governments are responding to the information technology challenge and how the structures of the workforce and communication systems are changing because of technology.