Developing countries stand to benefit from e-commerce, new UN report suggests

Developing countries stand to gain great economic benefits from advances in information and communications technology, particularly in traditional sectors such as publishing, according to the E-commerce and Development Report 2002, which was released today by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Digital publishing technology offers fresh opportunities for poorer States by providing their businesses with the opportunity to establish a presence "in a market dominated by the developed-country giants of the culture industry," the report states. By lowering production costs and cutting out middlemen, innovative software generates new markets and enables authors who would not otherwise be well known to expand their readerships.

According to the report, even the world's least developed countries have been won over to electronic distribution, which radically alters relations between publishers, the media and consumers. Growing awareness of the potential of online publishing is driving a number of new initiatives, ranging from the promotion of African publications in the United States to the establishment of a major digital scientific library in Brazil.

The report recommends that developing countries' governments make more use of information technology, encourage educational institutions to provide online classes, and support libraries financially so that they can computerize their publications.

While hailing the advantages of e-commerce, UNCTAD also calls attention to the threats to copyright posed by the new technology, which "allows virtually anything to be copied to perfection." Digital piracy is becoming exorbitantly expensive, according to the report, which notes that profits from Peru's "informal" book industry are higher than those from publishing.

"Copyright issues aside, online publishing could become a formidable vehicle for development, not just allowing businesses to stake out positions in markets formerly closed to them but also providing wider access to information, especially for academia and research, while at the same time promoting the country," UNCTAD states. "Now all that remains is to make the political decision makers aware of what is at stake."