Innovation & Equality in the Information Age: The United States and Brazil
by
Aaron Shaw
Brazil is trying to catch up on IT on its own terms.
Look up a definition of the digital divide and you will not find information about patents, trademarks or copyrights. Nor will you find a photo of a trade official or an international bureaucrat. Instead, the explanation will focus on cheap computers, mobile phones and free Internet. There may be some discussion of the skills necessary to use these technologies.
Such definitions are only telling half the story, in part because they attribute the divide to scarcity of resources. But the digital divide also persists because of the rules that govern information exchange, limiting the capacity of developing economies to gain from the boom in the Internet and other digital technologies.
Political and economic factors constrain the possibilities for equality in the knowledge-based economy. Some of these factors stem from the prevalence of business models rooted in exclusive forms of intellectual property (IP) as well as in the global enforcement of these regulatory norms.
For many wealthy governments and private investors, IP has historically provided investment protection and an incentive to innovate. However, for lower-income countries and their citizens, IP functions more like a regressive tax on progress—a barrier blocking equitable entry into the network society.
Brazil and the United States have become global standard-bearers for opposing approaches to knowledge-based economic growth. Their differences have fed into far-ranging disputes over the fate of governance in the network society and the relationship between states, markets and citizenship in the digital age. In that process, however, an unlikely consensus has developed, resulting in large part from the convergence of the interests of high-tech companies with those of emerging, powerful economic players such as Brazil. As governments and corporations around the world search for new sources of development and innovation, they should consider how to take advantage of this convergence to promote both equitable and profitable outcomes...
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How many overall jobs have
How many overall jobs have been created in wind energy so far? How do these break down into different types? What about jobs that are indirectly linked to the sector? How does the future look for employment in the sector, especially given the EU’s newly approved Renewable Energy Directive with its 20% renewables target by 2020, with wind set to provide 12-14% of EU electricity by then?
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But, as Franco and others
But, as Franco and others noted, Sen. Lugar has said this stuff for nearly a decade now. Seemed to be the appropriate time though to say it again. Especially since Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised a thorough review of Cuba policy.
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An interesting perspective
Until the restrictions are removed and the model used by the United States is adopted by developing countries they will continue to fall further behind. With an increase in computer financing in the U.S. the internet and digital technology is reaching into every room in every home and gaining momentum. Could it be too late? If developing countries do ever catch up would they not be forever in the shadow of those nations first out of the blocks?
You make an interesting point
You make an interesting point and I agree that high tech countries such as the US are quickly gaining momentum, and like you say I think you are right that developing countries may forever be in their shadow. it would simply take too long to catch up.