Digital dividens - World Development Report 2016

According to this World Bank report, for digital technologies to benefit everyone everywhere requires closing the remaining digital divide, especially in internet access. But greater digital adoption will not be enough. To get the most out of the digital revolution, countries also need to work on the “analog complements” — by strengthening regulations that ensure competition among businesses, by adapting workers’ skills to the demands of the new economy, and by ensuring that institutions are accountable.

The report considers that market competition, public-private partnerships, and effective regulation of internet and mobile operators encourage private investment that can make access universal and aff ordable. Public investment will sometimes be necessary and justified by large social returns. A harder task will be to ensure that the internet remains open and safe as users face cybercrime, privacy violations, and online censorship.

The report includes considerations and data from a gender perspective. Under the title “Digital economy and economic opportunities: a gender lens” (p. 134), it affirms that “digital technologies can reduce gender gaps in labor force participation by making work arrangements more flexible, connecting women to work, and generating new opportunities in online work, e-commerce, and the sharing economy”

Table of contents

xiii Foreword
xv Acknowledgments
xix Abbreviations

1 Overview: Strengthening the analog foundation of the digital revolution
5 Digital transformations—digital divides
8 How the internet promotes development
11 The dividends: Growth, jobs, and service delivery
18 The risks: Concentration, inequality, and control
25 Making the internet universal, affordable, open, and safe
29 Analog complements for a digital economy
36 Global cooperation to solve global problems
38 Reaping digital dividends for everyone
38 Notes
39 References
42 Spotlight 1: How the internet promotes development
49 Part 1: Facts and analysis
50 Chapter 1: Accelerating growth
51 Connected businesses
55 More trade, higher productivity, and greater competition
70 Digital technologies can lead fi rms and countries to diverge
73 The nexus of technology and regulation
80 The future of markets
82 Notes
85 References
90 Sector focus 1: Agriculture
94 Spotlight 2: Digital fi nance
100 Chapter 2: Expanding opportunities
101 Connected people
104 Creating jobs, boosting labor productivity, and benefi ting consumers
118 Labor market polarization can lead to greater inequality
120 The race between skills and technology
130 The future of jobs
135 Notes
138 References
146 Sector focus 2: Education
148 Spotlight 3: Social media
152 Chapter 3: Delivering services
153 Connected governments
155 Greater state capability and citizen participation
171 Digital technologies too often fail to empower citizens
177 The gap between technology and institutions
181 The future of public services
181 Notes
183 References
190 Sector focus 3: e-health
194 Spotlight 4: Digital identity
199 Part 2: Policies
200 Chapter 4: Sectoral policies
200 Making the internet universal, affordable, open, and safe
203 Shaping the digital economy
204 Supply-side policies: Availability, accessibility, and affordability
221 Demand-side policies: Open and safe internet use
228 Promoting the digital economy
232 Notes
235 References
240 Sector focus 4: Smart cities
244 Spotlight 5: The data revolution
248 Chapter 5: National priorities
248 Analog foundations for a digital economy
249 The interdependence between technology and complements
253 Regulations: Helping businesses connect and compete
258 Skills: Making the internet work for everyone
272 Institutions: Connecting for a capable and accountable government
279 Digital safeguards
281 Notes
282 References
288 Sector focus 5: Energy
292 Chapter 6: Global cooperation
292 Internet governance
297 Toward a global digital market
303 Leveraging information for sustainable development
317 Notes
318 References
322 Sector focus 6: Environmental management
326 Spotlight 6: Six digital technologies to watch