Comments for Globalization and Local Risks http://localandglobal.wordpress.com Jalal Alamgir's views global-local divides and bridges Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:39:19 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on Half-Digital in Digital Divide by Kun http://localandglobal.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/half-digital-in-digital-divide/#comment-95 Kun Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:39:19 +0000 http://localandglobal.wordpress.com/?p=88#comment-95 The film industry example is an interesting phenomenon to exemplify the digital divide. I think the digital divide is actually a part of the disruption between uneven development and fast-paced globalization. While pointing out the digital gap, the posting sent some positive signals, such as local ingenuity to narrow the gap, and the government support by importing relevant software and hardware. But the article also mentioned” hyperactive output of satellite TV”, which is very likely to shrink the demand in film industry if many film-goers start to turn to home entertainment. Therefore, I think in addition to government effort to close the gap, booming film industry is also a key factor to push to half-digital on way to be fully-developed. If we go further, i think national strategy and market dynamics should go hand in hand to try the narrow the overall digital divide. The film industry example is an interesting phenomenon to exemplify the digital divide. I think the digital divide is actually a part of the disruption between uneven development and fast-paced globalization. While pointing out the digital gap, the posting sent some positive signals, such as local ingenuity to narrow the gap, and the government support by importing relevant software and hardware. But the article also mentioned” hyperactive output of satellite TV”, which is very likely to shrink the demand in film industry if many film-goers start to turn to home entertainment. Therefore, I think in addition to government effort to close the gap, booming film industry is also a key factor to push to half-digital on way to be fully-developed. If we go further, i think national strategy and market dynamics should go hand in hand to try the narrow the overall digital divide.

]]> Comment on Half-Digital in Digital Divide by Jalal Alamgir http://localandglobal.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/half-digital-in-digital-divide/#comment-94 Jalal Alamgir Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:23:46 +0000 http://localandglobal.wordpress.com/?p=88#comment-94 Denis, Bangladesh does have a national strategy that it has started to implement. It's called Digital Bangladesh. By 2021 the planners hope to establish a countrywide high-speed 3rd gen ICT network. Education and health sectors are aimed to be big beneficiaries. But it's not totally clear yet what will be done for providing access for low income groups. World Bank's governance blogs have some interesting ideas from around the world where sms-s and low-cost technologies are being used to help drive better governance. http://blogs.worldbank.org/governance/ Denis, Bangladesh does have a national strategy that it has started to implement. It’s called Digital Bangladesh. By 2021 the planners hope to establish a countrywide high-speed 3rd gen ICT network. Education and health sectors are aimed to be big beneficiaries. But it’s not totally clear yet what will be done for providing access for low income groups.

World Bank’s governance blogs have some interesting ideas from around the world where sms-s and low-cost technologies are being used to help drive better governance.
http://blogs.worldbank.org/governance/

]]> Comment on South Asia’s Barrier by Saeed Aden http://localandglobal.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/south-asia-economic-barrier/#comment-93 Saeed Aden Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:30:38 +0000 http://localandglobal.wordpress.com/?p=82#comment-93 Jalal I agree with you the increasing cheap connectivity in South East Asia and many developing countries may be a good sign or economic potential. I visited East Africa last December and the Middle East. I went to areas 20 years you would not even think of any connections and now camel men in the mountains of Somalia and the desert in the Middle East have cell phones and also found internet café in the border between Kenya and Somalia. But I have to say the cost of cell phones is very much higher in Africa especially east Africa compared to many parts of the world, and this is a clear sign of the technology divide and how some companies have monopoly in Africa. If you need to make long distance calls you pay much higher than you would any country in the developing countries.I think the recently completed fiber optic sea cable will complement communication carriers of South and East Africa through the sale of wholesale international capacity to global networks eastward through India and westward through the Mediterranean. The system will give African retail carriers with equal and open access to inexpensive bandwidth, removing the international infrastructure bottleneck and supporting East and South African economic growth. This fiber optic sea cable project may help Africa’s connectivity to the world and bridge the gap in technological divide. Jalal I agree with you the increasing cheap connectivity in South East Asia and many developing countries may be a good sign or economic potential. I visited East Africa
last December and the Middle East. I went to areas 20 years you would not even think of any connections and now camel men in the mountains of Somalia and the desert in the Middle East have cell phones and also found internet café in the border between Kenya and Somalia. But I have to say the cost of cell phones is very much higher in Africa especially east Africa compared to many parts of the world, and this is a clear sign of the technology divide and how some companies have monopoly in Africa. If you need to make long distance calls you pay much higher than you would any country in the developing countries.I think the recently completed fiber optic sea cable will complement
communication carriers of South and East Africa through the sale of wholesale international capacity to global networks eastward through India and westward through the Mediterranean. The system will give African retail carriers with equal and open access to inexpensive bandwidth, removing the international infrastructure bottleneck and supporting East and South African economic growth. This fiber optic sea cable project may help Africa’s connectivity to the world and bridge the gap in technological divide.

]]> Comment on Half-Digital in Digital Divide by denis bogere http://localandglobal.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/half-digital-in-digital-divide/#comment-91 denis bogere Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:37:41 +0000 http://localandglobal.wordpress.com/?p=88#comment-91 I think being in America there are things we take for granted, but in this case it shows the creativity of the film industry with its limited resources. But let’s not kid ourselves, closing the digital gap won’t happen on its own via people’s initiatives, but rather the government should promote policies and develop institutions which can close that digital gap, in order to benefit the country. Jalal, I know you have already addressed the availability of cheap telecommunications, but how is Bangladesh fairing in investments in human resources in relation to information and communications technology, and does Bangladesh have a national strategy towards closing the digital gap. I think being in America there are things we take for granted, but in this case it shows the creativity of the film industry with its limited resources. But let’s not kid ourselves, closing the digital gap won’t happen on its own via people’s initiatives, but rather the government should promote policies and develop institutions which can close that digital gap, in order to benefit the country. Jalal, I know you have already addressed the availability of cheap telecommunications, but how is Bangladesh fairing in investments in human resources in relation to information and communications technology, and does Bangladesh have a national strategy towards closing the digital gap.

]]> Comment on South Asia’s Barrier by Kerol Lundy http://localandglobal.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/south-asia-economic-barrier/#comment-89 Kerol Lundy Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:12:26 +0000 http://localandglobal.wordpress.com/?p=82#comment-89 It seems to me that in the era of globalization, development is synonymous to access to information superhighway, where the other important factor of human development is willfully neglected once the magic of statistic shows that there is an increase in the GDP. For instance, despite Bangladesh "success" in information technology field, it is still a poor country with human development index lower than that of Brazil, Mexico or Chile. I also notice that the much talk about "success" in the field by these "technological hubs" (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan etc.) is concentrated in one dedicated area, thus the technological divide still persist, because all of the country does not really benefit from the boom. I am not an economist; I cannot find the proper term to define that "remote controlled progress". Countries that are making progress are in a league that meets certain criteria set by the "Globalizers". Countries that open up their market to the MNCs, removed regulation and lowered tariffs are making progress, their GDP would increase as a result of these huge investments; but people's life would still be miserable. In my recent trip to Haiti, I glanced at an economic report on Haiti. I was surprised to see economic growth on paper, but once you set foot on the street the reality is totally different. Lately, cell phone companies have been investing in that sector and making huge profits, I bet that Haiti has more cells per person in the whole Caribbean despite being the poorest. As we experienced a housing bubble burst in the US, shouldn't we expect a technological bubble burst in Southeast Asia in the near future? It seems to me that in the era of globalization, development is synonymous to access to information superhighway, where the other important factor of human development is willfully neglected once the magic of statistic shows that there is an increase in the GDP. For instance, despite Bangladesh “success” in information technology field, it is still a poor country with human development index lower than that of Brazil, Mexico or Chile. I also notice that the much talk about “success” in the field by these “technological hubs” (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan etc.) is concentrated in one dedicated area, thus the technological divide still persist, because all of the country does not really benefit from the boom. I am not an economist; I cannot find the proper term to define that “remote controlled progress”. Countries that are making progress are in a league that meets certain criteria set by the “Globalizers”. Countries that open up their market to the MNCs, removed regulation and lowered tariffs are making progress, their GDP would increase as a result of these huge investments; but people’s life would still be miserable.

In my recent trip to Haiti, I glanced at an economic report on Haiti. I was surprised to see economic growth on paper, but once you set foot on the street the reality is totally different. Lately, cell phone companies have been investing in that sector and making huge profits, I bet that Haiti has more cells per person in the whole Caribbean despite being the poorest.

As we experienced a housing bubble burst in the US, shouldn’t we expect a technological bubble burst in Southeast Asia in the near future?

]]> Comment on South Asia’s Barrier by Jalal Alamgir http://localandglobal.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/south-asia-economic-barrier/#comment-88 Jalal Alamgir Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:17:45 +0000 http://localandglobal.wordpress.com/?p=82#comment-88 Hi Sharon - true, some degree of inequality will have to be there, but think about South Korea. Its income is at OECD levels, but inequality (as measured by Gini coefficient) is less than that of India, and access is really widespread. Of course it invested heavily in education, but an outcome like S. Korea's would be great for any developing country. Denis, I'm not fully getting the question... I'm suggesting that deregulating the telecoms sector was one of the wisest economic decisions taken by the government. Hi Sharon – true, some degree of inequality will have to be there, but think about South Korea. Its income is at OECD levels, but inequality (as measured by Gini coefficient) is less than that of India, and access is really widespread. Of course it invested heavily in education, but an outcome like S. Korea’s would be great for any developing country.

Denis, I’m not fully getting the question… I’m suggesting that deregulating the telecoms sector was one of the wisest economic decisions taken by the government.

]]> Comment on South Asia’s Barrier by denis bogere http://localandglobal.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/south-asia-economic-barrier/#comment-87 denis bogere Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:34:30 +0000 http://localandglobal.wordpress.com/?p=82#comment-87 So Jalal I’m curious to know if you are also suggesting that Bangladesh has strong, but not weak financial and capital regulations that have allowed the deregulation of the economy. So Jalal I’m curious to know if you are also suggesting that Bangladesh has strong, but not weak financial and capital regulations that have allowed the deregulation of the economy.

]]> Comment on South Asia’s Barrier by Sharon N http://localandglobal.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/south-asia-economic-barrier/#comment-86 Sharon N Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:05:59 +0000 http://localandglobal.wordpress.com/?p=82#comment-86 Hi Jalal, I hate to be the voice of cynicism (again), but even as South Asia becomes more and more technologically savvy, won't the inherent structure of capitalism cause there to always be a "lower class" within each nation. And won't this group continuously not have access to technology, since those who have the wealth to attain resources will not want to give them up? Although it is certainly great that South Asian nations are able to "compete" with industrialized nations in the sector of technology, which will lead to an increase of GDP, I think that it will ultimately create a larger divide between those who are tech-savvy and those who are not. Perhaps a way to decrease the gap between those who have access to technology and those who don't is to provide courses in basic technology skills as early as primary school? Currently, there are several efforts to increase literacy in South Asia as early as primary school; if access to literacy and computer knowledge are taught concurrently, perhaps the technology gap will not be as great as I expect? Hi Jalal,
I hate to be the voice of cynicism (again), but even as South Asia becomes more and more technologically savvy, won’t the inherent structure of capitalism cause there to always be a “lower class” within each nation. And won’t this group continuously not have access to technology, since those who have the wealth to attain resources will not want to give them up? Although it is certainly great that South Asian nations are able to “compete” with industrialized nations in the sector of technology, which will lead to an increase of GDP, I think that it will ultimately create a larger divide between those who are tech-savvy and those who are not.
Perhaps a way to decrease the gap between those who have access to technology and those who don’t is to provide courses in basic technology skills as early as primary school? Currently, there are several efforts to increase literacy in South Asia as early as primary school; if access to literacy and computer knowledge are taught concurrently, perhaps the technology gap will not be as great as I expect?

]]> Comment on South Asia’s Barrier by Jalal Alamgir http://localandglobal.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/south-asia-economic-barrier/#comment-85 Jalal Alamgir Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:56:17 +0000 http://localandglobal.wordpress.com/?p=82#comment-85 The data came from a presentation at the conference by one of Nokia's top executives, Esko Aho, who was a former Prime Minister of Finland. It's based on Nokia's own research worldwide. I looked it up and found it repeated in Unite, a website run by Nokia and Siemens (see it here: http://unite.nokiasiemensnetworks.com/adwords/article/view/id/180. I misquoted slightly: Brazil's average TCO for mobile data connection is $225/month. Staggering! The data came from a presentation at the conference by one of Nokia’s top executives, Esko Aho, who was a former Prime Minister of Finland. It’s based on Nokia’s own research worldwide. I looked it up and found it repeated in Unite, a website run by Nokia and Siemens (see it here: http://unite.nokiasiemensnetworks.com/adwords/article/view/id/180. I misquoted slightly: Brazil’s average TCO for mobile data connection is $225/month. Staggering!

]]> Comment on South Asia’s Barrier by Jalal Alamgir http://localandglobal.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/south-asia-economic-barrier/#comment-84 Jalal Alamgir Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:51:56 +0000 http://localandglobal.wordpress.com/?p=82#comment-84 Hi Joshua, yes, Friedman would have been more correct in using "flattening" instead of leaping farther ahead to a flat world. Maybe it was a marketing ploy. But I think even in the technological realm, the world is flattening in some respects and remains constrained in others. For example, Microsoft's dominance of operating systems can be, from one angle, a flattener, since so many people around the world use the same software (e.g., IE, Windows) to talk to their machines. From another angle, it is also hierarchical, manifest in Microsoft's monopolistic relationship with users, for which it has run afoul of antitrust laws. I do share your optimism that the divide has been and will be shrinking, and that's a great thing. Hi Joshua, yes, Friedman would have been more correct in using “flattening” instead of leaping farther ahead to a flat world. Maybe it was a marketing ploy. But I think even in the technological realm, the world is flattening in some respects and remains constrained in others. For example, Microsoft’s dominance of operating systems can be, from one angle, a flattener, since so many people around the world use the same software (e.g., IE, Windows) to talk to their machines. From another angle, it is also hierarchical, manifest in Microsoft’s monopolistic relationship with users, for which it has run afoul of antitrust laws. I do share your optimism that the divide has been and will be shrinking, and that’s a great thing.

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