Publication:
China's Information Revolution : Managing the Economic and Social Transformation

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Files in English
English PDF (2.17 MB)
2,233 downloads
English Text (460.83 KB)
1,452 downloads
Published
2007
ISSN
Date
2012-05-29
Editor(s)
Abstract
This report presents a comprehensive overview of the information, communication and technological sector in China, and the role it has played during economic and social transformation in the past decade. It provides guidance on the kind of reforms policy makers in China may wish to consider in pursuing the country's quest for continued ICT development. It also combines local perspectives with international experiences on how issues in areas such as legal and regulatory environment, telecommunications infrastructures, and IT industry have been addressed by other countries.
Link to Data Set
Citation
Qiang, Christine Zhen-Wei. 2007. China's Information Revolution : Managing the Economic and Social Transformation. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/6606 License: Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0 IGO.
Associated URLs
Associated content
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Publication
    ICT Indicators and Implications for Methods for Assessing Socioeconomic Impact of ICT
    (Washington, DC, 2012) World Bank
    This report is being delivered pursuant to the agreement (Agreement) between the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of the Arab Republic of Egypt (MCIT) and the World Bank (Bank) for the provision by the Bank of technical assistance (RTA) to MCIT and certain of its affiliates. One of those affiliates is the Information Technology Industry Development Authority (ITIDA). When it comes to designing and implementing ICT policies, the availability of proper indicators is key to efficiency and effectiveness. However, the indicators should go further, and should help policymakers also to measure how well the sector or projects are performing, provide an assessment over time on the status of a project, program, or policy, promote credibility and public confidence by reporting on the results of programs, provide in-depth information about public sector performance, help formulate and justify budget requests, and identify potentially promising programs or practices for duplication or scalability. Thus, this report is composed of the following sections: (i) a discussion of indicator types, in particular impact indicators and their constraints; (ii) an overview of the institutional setup of ICT data in Egypt; (iii) ICT data categories and methodologies used by major international indices and reports, including an analysis of Egypt's strong and weak results in the indices; (iv) a mapping and gap analysis between the indices' indicators and those currently collected by Egypt; (v) a set of recommendations for Egypt and (vi) implications of this work with respect to analyzing the socioeconomic impact of ICTs on investment, trade, growth and education in Egypt.
  • Publication
    Building Broadband : Strategies and Policies for the Developing World
    (World Bank, 2010) Kim, Yongsoo; Kelly, Tim; Raja, Siddhartha
    This book suggests an ecosystem approach to broadband policy that could help in the design of strategies, policies, and programs that support network expansion, have the potential to transform economies, improve the quality and range of services, enable application development, and broaden adoption among users. To identify emerging best practices to nurture this ecosystem, this volume analyzes the Republic of Korea and other leading broadband markets. It identifies three building blocks to support the growth of the broadband ecosystem: defining visionary but flexible strategies, using competition to promote market growth, and facilitating demand. An important but often neglected building block is demand facilitation. This includes raising awareness about the benefits of broadband and improving affordability and accessibility for the largest number of users. Successful countries have often focused on creating a suite of useful applications that increase the relevance of broadband to the widest base of users. Programs to mainstream information and communication technology (ICT) use in education, health, or government have been common.
  • Publication
    Enhancing the Livelihoods of the Rural Poor through ICT - A Knowledge Map
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-06) Economic and Social Research Foundation; McNamara, Kerry
    The major objective of the study was to come up with illustrative success stories as well as failures to give lessons on ICT interventions in the area of rural livelihoods and their impact in Tanzania. The key issues addressed in this study were: 1) common ICTs used by the rural poor in Tanzania; 2) which ICTs are regarded as attractive by different groups and why; 3) the use of ICTs by different age cohorts as part of their livelihoods strategies; 4) the role of ICTs in influencing the livelihoods of the poor; 5) what effects, if any, does use of these resources have on vulnerability, livelihoods and value of assets; and 6) whether or not ICT services can be improved in relation to their usage and effects. The study also made a comparative analysis of the use of ICTs by different groups based on age, location, gender and ethnicity. This study was conducted for a period of four months from October 2006 to January 2007, in three different districts (Bagamoyo, Moshi Rural and Njombe). The findings from this study reveal that ICTs commonly used by the rural poor in the selected districts are radio, mobile phone and TV. Development of ICTs is a result of a number of interventions by government, NGOs, development partners and the private sector, and this has impacted on the livelihoods of the rural poor. Survey results confirmed this by revealing that ICTs contributed to improving rural livelihoods through improved businesses (17%), increased access to education (3%), ease of communications (50%) and increased access to key information (30%). The output of this study is expected to inform policymakers as well as other stakeholders, such as development partners, civil society and the private sector, on how ICTs can be adapted to help improve the livelihoods of poor individuals, families and communities in rural areas and increase their income opportunities and/or livelihood sources, thereby improving their chances of escaping from persistent poverty. It also documents what has already been implemented in Tanzania as far as ICTs and rural livelihoods are concerned, and the pertinent gaps in terms of improving the livelihoods of the rural poor by using ICT tools.
  • Publication
    Growing Industrial Clusters in Asia : Serendipity and Science
    (Washington, DC : World Bank, 2008) Yamashita, Shoichi; Yusuf, Shahid; Nabeshima, Kaoru
    Can clusters be made to order? By Shahid Yusuf. Lessons from the development of silicon valley and its entrepreneurial support network for Japan by Martin Kenney. The emergence of Hsinchu science park as an IT cluster by Tain-Jy Chen. Coping with globalization of production networks and digital convergence: the challenge of ICT cluster development in Singapore by Poh-Kam Wong. Bangalore cluster: evolution, growth, and challenges by Rakesh Basant. ICT clusters and industrial restructuring in the Republic of Korea: the case of Seoul by Sam Ock Park. Constructing jurisdictional advantage in a mature economy: the case of Kitakyushu, Japan by Maryann P. Feldman. Kitakyushu: desperately seeking clusters by Kaoru Nabeshima and Shoichi Yamashita.
  • Publication
    Republic of Tunisia : Information and Communications Technology Contribution to Growth and Employment Generation, Volume 1. Policy Note
    (Washington, DC, 2002-03) World Bank
    This policy note is the first of two volumes, drafted in conjunction with a more detailed technical report. It was prepared in response to a request by the Government of Tunisia for Bank assistance to formulate an ICT development strategy, in accordance with the targets set in the Government of Tunisia's 10th development plan. The policy note highlights current constraints to ICT sector development and proposes measures to eliminate them. It should be read in conjunction with the broader strategy report (volume two: technical report), which contains complementary data and technical information. The Government objectives were conveyed to the World Bank team in May 2001. The strategy is aimed at bolstering the country's emerging ICT sector and maximizing its ability to compete in local, regional, and global markets. In this context, the major objectives of the ICT strategy are to: (a) maximize the ICT contribution to growth and employment generation; (b) position Tunisia in the global ICT market; and (c) integrate ICT into the Tunisian economy. Indirect issues of the ICT impact on productivity and competitiveness are marginally treated in this note. The report compares the state of ICT development in Tunisia that of other economies, taking into account Tunisia's relative strengths and weaknesses in developing a competitive and robust ICT industry. The report outlines the pillars of a strategy and specifies measures to be implemented by the Government, the private sector, and other stakeholders.

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

  • Publication
    China Economic Update, June 2024
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-06-14) World Bank
    Economic activity picked up in China in early 2024, buoyed by stronger exports. Meanwhile, growth in domestic demand moderated. Manufacturing and infrastructure investment and consumer spending on services remained robust, while the property market correction continued. In the long term, China’s rapidly aging population will have wide-ranging economic impacts, but with the right policies the demographic transition is manageable. The economic challenges from an aging population can be overcome with policies that increase labor force participation and extend productive working lives. Affordable childcare, better work-life balance, elimination of gender bias in hiring, a higher retirement age, skills upgrading, and lifelong learning are measures that could expand China’s workforce and make it more productive.
  • Publication
    Digital Africa
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13) Begazo, Tania; Dutz, Mark Andrew; Blimpo, Moussa
    All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.
  • Publication
    Special Economic Zones : Progress, Emerging Challenges, and Future Directions
    (World Bank, 2011-08-01) Akinci, Gokhan; Farole, Thomas
    Ask three people to describe a special economic zone (SEZ) and three very different images may emerge. The first person may describe a fenced-in industrial estate in a developing country, populated by footloose multinational corporations (MNCs) enjoying tax breaks, with laborers in garment factories working in substandard conditions. In contrast, the second person may recount the 'miracle of Shenzhen,' a fishing village transformed into a cosmopolitan city of 14 million, with per capita gross domestic product (GDP) growing 100-fold, in the 30 years since it was designated as an SEZ. A third person may think about places like Dubai or Singapore, whose ports serve as the basis for wide range of trade- and logistics-oriented activities. In this book, the author use SEZ as a generic expression to describe the broad range of modern economic zones discussed in this book. But we are most concerned with two specific forms of those zones: (1) the export processing zones (EPZs) or free zones, which focus on manufacturing for export; and (2) the large-scale SEZs, which usually combine residential and multiuse commercial and industrial activity. The former represents a traditional model used widely throughout the developing world for almost four decades. The latter represents a more recent form of economic zone, originating in the 1980s in China and gaining in popularity in recent years. Although these models need not be mutually exclusive (many SEZs include EPZ industrial parks within them), they are sufficiently different in their objectives, investment requirements, and approach to require a distinction in this book.
  • Publication
    Waste Management in China
    (Washington, DC, 2005-05) World Bank
    China recently surpassed the U.S. as the world's largest municipal solid waste (MSW) generator. In 2004 the urban areas of China generated about 190,000,000 tons of MSW and by 2030 this amount is projected to be at least 480,000,000 tons. No country has ever experienced as large, or as rapid, an increase in waste generation. Management of this waste has enormous domestic and international implications. This report provides a general sector background and identifies critical solid waste management issues - although it does not address the areas of hazardous waste, medical waste, sewage sludge, or waste pickers. However it does discuss waste quantities; information availability (quantity and waste cost); the decision-making process used to derive policy and strategically plan for technology selection, private sector involvement, cost recovery, inadequate public access, and participation in the planning process; facility operations; financing; institutional arrangements including inadequate decentralization of collection and transfer services and municipal capacity; private sector participation, and carbon financing.
  • Publication
    China 2030 : Building a Modern, Harmonious, and Creative High-Income Society [pre-publication version]
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2012-02-27) World Bank; Development Research Center of the State Council, P.R.C.
    China should complete its transition to a market economy--through enterprise, land, labor, and financial sector reforms--strengthen its private sector, open its markets to greater competition and innovation, and ensure equality of opportunity to help achieve its goal of a new structure for economic growth. These are some of the key findings of a joint research report by a team from the World Bank and the Development Research Center of China’s State Council, which lays out the case for a new development strategy for China to rebalance the role of government and market, private sector and society, to reach the goal of a high income country by 2030.   This report recommends steps to deal with the  risks facing China over the next 20 years, including the risk of a hard landing in the short term, as well as challenges posed by an ageing and shrinking workforce, rising inequality, environmental stresses, and external imbalances. The report lays out six strategic directions for China’s future: * Completing the transition to a market economy; * Accelerating the pace of open innovation; * Going “green” to transform environmental stresses into green growth as a driver for development; * Expanding opportunities and services such as health, education and access to jobs for all people; * Modernizing and strengthening its domestic fiscal system; * Seeking mutually beneficial relations with the world by connecting China’s structural reforms to the changing international economy.