2006 Information and Communications for Development
2006 Information and Communications for Development

Author:

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2006-01-01

Total Pages: 332

ISBN-13: 0821363476

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"""The report is essential reading for policy makers, government workers, and academics pursuing the goal of equitable, sustainable development across the world."" - N. R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman and Chief Mentor Infosys Technologies Ltd. Information and communication technology (ICT) is rapidly evolving, changing rich and poor societies alike. It has become a powerful tool for participating in the global economy and for offering new opportunities for development efforts. ICT can and should advance economic growth and reduce poverty in developing countries. It has been 20 years since the first telephone operator was privatized, a little over 10 since the World Wide Web emerged, and 5 since the telecommunications bubble burst. How have the ICT sector and its role in development evolved? What have we learned? How can we move forward? Information and Communications for Development 2006: Global Trends and Policies contains lessons from both developed and developing countries. It examines the roles of the public and private sectors, identifying the challenges and the benefits of adopting and expanding ICT use. The report assesses topics essential to building an information society, including investment, access, diffusion, and country policies and strategies. Assessing what has worked, what hasn't, and why, this report is an invaluable guide for understanding how to capture the benefits of ICT around the world."

Making Foreign Direct Investment Work for Sub-Saharan Africa
Making Foreign Direct Investment Work for Sub-Saharan Africa

Author: Thomas Farole

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2014-01-13

Total Pages: 302

ISBN-13: 1464801266

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This book presents the results of a groundbreaking study on ‘spillovers’ of knowledge and technology from global value-chain oriented foreign direct investment (FDI) in Sub-Saharan Africa, and discusses implications for policymakers hoping to harness the power of FDI for economic development.

Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2010
Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2010

Author: United Nations

Publisher: UN

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789211217599

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In 2010, the Latin American and Caribbean region showed great resilience to the international financial crisis and became the world region with the fastest-growing flows of both inward and outward foreign direct investment (FDI). The upswing in FDI in the region has occurred in a context in which developing countries in general have taken on a greater share in both inward and outward FDI flows. This briefing paper is divided into five sections. The first offers a regional overview of FDI in 2010. The second examines FDI trends in Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic. The third describes the presence China is beginning to build up as an investor in the region. Lastly, the fourth and fifth sections analyze the main foreign investments and business strategies in the telecommunications and software sectors, respectively.

Foreign Direct Investment in South Asia
Foreign Direct Investment in South Asia

Author: Pravakar Sahoo

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-10-01

Total Pages: 378

ISBN-13: 8132215362

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During the 1990s, the governments of South Asian countries acted as ‘facilitators’ to attract FDI. As a result, the inflow of FDI increased. However, to become an attractive FDI destination as China, Singapore, or Brazil, South Asia has to improve the local conditions of doing business. This book, based on research that blends theory, empirical evidence, and policy, asks and attempts to answer a few core questions relevant to FDI policy in South Asian countries: Which major reforms have succeeded? What are the factors that influence FDI inflows? What has been the impact of FDI on macroeconomic performance? Which policy priorities/reforms needed to boost FDI are pending? These questions and answers should interest policy makers, academics, and all those interested in FDI in the South Asian region and in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Taxing Telecommunications in Developing Countries
Taxing Telecommunications in Developing Countries

Author: Ms.Thornton Matheson

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2017-11-15

Total Pages: 42

ISBN-13: 1484329279

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Developing countries apply numerous sector-specific taxes to telecommunications, whose buoyant revenues and formal enterprises provide a convenient “tax handle”. This paper explores whether there is an economic rationale for sector-specific taxes on telecommunications and, if so, what form they should take to balance the competing goals of promoting connectivity and mobilizing revenues. A survey of the literature finds that limited telecoms competition likely creates rents that could efficiently be taxed. We propose a “pecking order” of sector-specific taxes that could be levied in addition to standard income and value-added taxes, based on capturing rents and minimizing distortions. Taxes that target possible economic rents or profits are preferable, but their administrative challenges may necessitate reliance on service excises at the cost of higher consumer prices and lower connectivity. Taxes on capital inputs and consumer access, which distort production and restrict network access, should be avoided; so should tax incentives, which are not needed to attract foreign capital to tap a local market.

Investing in Infrastructure
Investing in Infrastructure

Author: Marianne Fay

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 26

ISBN-13:

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The authors estimate demand for infrastructure services over the first decade of the new millennium based on a model that relates demand for infrastructure with the structural change and growth in income the world is expected to undergo between now and 2010. It should be noted that predictions are based on estimated demand rather than on any absolute measure of "need" such as those developed in the Millenium Development Goals. The authors also provide estimates of associated investment and maintenance expenditures and predict total required resource flows to satisfy new demand while maintaining service for existing infrastructure.

Does Foreign Direct Investment Promote Development?
Does Foreign Direct Investment Promote Development?

Author: Theodore H. Moran

Publisher: Peterson Institute

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 442

ISBN-13: 9780881323818

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This volume gathers the cutting edge of new research on foreign direct investment and host country economic performance, and presents the most sophisticated critiques of current and past inquiries. It presents new results, concludes with an analysis of the implications for contemporary policy debates, and proposed new avenues for future research.

The BRIC States and Outward Foreign Direct Investment
The BRIC States and Outward Foreign Direct Investment

Author: David Collins

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2013-03-14

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 0199652716

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This book evaluates how the phenomenon of outward foreign direct investment in services from Brazil, Russia, India, and China has been and could be regulated in international law. It addresses the goal of further economic development, balanced against the key public interest issues that lead to much criticism of international investment law.

ICT, Financial Inclusion, and Growth
ICT, Financial Inclusion, and Growth

Author: Mr.Kangni Kpodar

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2011-04-01

Total Pages: 47

ISBN-13: 1455227064

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This paper studies the impact of information and communication technologies (ICT), especially mobile phone rollout, on economic growth in a sample of African countries from 1988 to 2007. Further, we investigate whether financial inclusion is one of the channels through which mobile phone development influences economic growth. In estimating the impact of ICT on economic growth, we use a wide range of ICT indicators, including mobile and fixed telephone penetration rates and the cost of local calls. We address any endogeneity issues by using the System Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) estimator. Financial inclusion is captured by variables measuring access to financial services, such as the number of deposits or loans per head, compiled by Beck, Demirguc-Kunt, and Martinez Peria (2007) and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP, 2009). The results confirm that ICT, including mobile phone development, contribute significantly to economic growth in African countries. Part of the positive effect of mobile phone penetration on growth comes from greater financial inclusion. At the same time, the development of mobile phones consolidates the impact of financial inclusion on economic growth, especially in countries where mobile financial services take hold.