Global Electronic Commerce: A Policy Primer

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0881322741

Electronic commerce is changing the ways that businesses & consumers interact with each other, the products they create, buy & sell, & the way that they communicate, learn & become informed. How can policymakers position their countries & themselves to take advantage of this new environment? How should policymaking adjust to a more global, more networked & more information-rich marketplace where relationships & jurisdictions between the governments, businesses & citizens of different countries increasingly overlap? How can governments effectively harness rapidly changing technologies & partner with both domestic & foreign private sectors to reap the greatest benefits for their constituents? This primer answers these questions using both general analysis & specific examples. It addresses in particular the needs of policymakers in emerging markets who must formulate & refine policies that affect e-commerce in areas such as telecommunications & finance, international trade & domestic distribution & taxation & privacy. Companies considering doing business in these economies also will find that the examples of the issues that policymakers face, the different policy approaches that they choose & the market opportunities that arise as more & more economies around the world embrace global electronic commerce. July 2000. 230 pages. ISBN: paper 0-88132-274-1. $20.00. ". . . an impressive & comprehensive book on a complex subject . . . (It) will have use far beyond the developing countries for which it is primarily targeted." -Andrew Wyckoff, head of the Economic Analysis & Statistics Division, Directorate of Science, OECD.