OECD Countries and Iran Essay Example for Free

OECD Countries and Iran Essay As internet is gradually maturing and presenting a paradigm shift in its very ideation, the infrastructure has acquired a business character, a transcontinental personality and a vending framework of wide-ranging, business, educational, scientific and personal data. Now the use of internet covers real-time computer conferencing, audio broadcasting, video broadcasting, real time telephony and of course real-time business. Therefore, broadband is one of the finest and reliable means of having internet at affordable prices. Globalization has opened up newer vistas of trade and business all around the globe. With globalization regime coming into effect all over the world, there’s increasing emphasis towards networking and broadband technologies. During 1996-2001 Ireland has shown the highest share of ICT exports while Korea took the lead after 2002. Finland and the Netherlands started making rapid strides in the field of ICT exports during 1996-2003. Japan used to be the leader in innovation, quality and ICT applications, but with the emergence of new actors like Hungary, Mexico, Finland and Sweden on the horizon, Japan’s export market share has come down in the recent past. During the course of this study, it was found that the share of ICT exports in total exports from OECD nations has increased in almost all countries. For example, in South Korea it has more than doubled, while in some countries like United States and United Kingdom and Japan it has decreased to some extent. The results show that in 1996, the major players namely U. S. A, United Kingdom and Japan had 54. 37% of total OECD export but in 2004 this percentage came down to 40. 21%. While the Balassa index of Korea is the highest from 2000 and during selected time period (1996-2004), while the Balassa index of Germany is somewhat less. United state and Japan are surely losing some export market shares with the emergence of new leading nations like Hungary, Finland and Czech Republic. The results show that in 1996, 2003 and 2004 only 9 countries have shown comparative advantage in ICT export products. It is interesting to note that out of these 9 countries, 8 countries have been able to show consistent performance in 1996 as well as in 2003, while Sweden happened to be the leader in 1996 duly replaced by Hungary in 2003 which came out with impressive figures of ICT exports. Figures for 2004 and 1996 indicate that 7 countries are the same while Hungary and Czech Republic join the club in 2004. But the Korean republic, United States, Japan and Mexico have come out with impressive figures and find a place in the all three list. This effectively means that only 5 countries of EU are in the list. As is evident from table 6, there is no country from Central European region in list for the year 1996. But in subsequent years representation from this region has shown some improvement. The list contains one name in 2003 and two countries from Central European region in 2004. It means the role of Central European countries in ICT export goods is on an upward journey and will increase in future as well. The Middle East countries: Lesser ICT export oriented The results show that the ICT export has a positive situation in Israel. Similarly Jordan, Lebanon and Oman appear far better than other countries in the region. But with the exception of Israel, the ICT export has not been able to register much of gain in this region and the entire middle appears slow in picking up the benefits of ICT exports. The RCA index of Israel is more than 5 during 1996-2003. It means ICT exports in Israel have an important position. The RCA index of Jordan is under 1, but it increased during 1996-2003. The RCA indexes of other countries in Middle East are almost near Zero. It means that ICT export in these countries has not found a significant role. The result demonstrates that countries with lower DSL/Cable Ratio have higher broadband penetration (except Iceland). It indicates Countries with higher broadband penetration have significant facilities-based competition between telecom companies offering DSL and cable TV operators and therefore the DSL/Cable ratio in these countries is low. The result also shows negative relation between DSL subscribers and Monthly charge. It means countries with lower Monthly charge have more DSL subscribers. The distribution of countries in the graph is very wide and far from correlation Line. It means correlation is not strong. Similarly, the result shows direct relation between DSL subscribers and Speed of Connection. It shows where the Speed of connection is higher, there are more DSL Subscribers. We’ve used the regression’ coefficient for measuring the correlation between two variables namely ‘Monthly Charge’ and ‘Speed of Connection’ on dependent variable namely ‘DSL subscribers’. The results show that; ? On an average 33% changing of DSL Subscribers is from Monthly Charge and Speed of Connection and rest is from other variables. It says influence of Speed on DSL Subscribers is more than the influence of Monthly Charge on DSL Subscribers. In addition, it says that the Influence of Monthly charge on DSL Subscribers is negative i. e. with decrease in Monthly Charge the number of DSL Subscribers will register an increase. ? The relation between Broadband subscribers and ICT export is very strong in Middle East. It says 98% changing of Broadband Subscribers in Middle East is related to ICT Exports. In general, the result can be considered as relevant for other countries as well, but since there are not many countries with Broadband subscribers, therefore the results cannot be termed as reflective of the internet penetration for all Middle East countries. ? That there isn’t a correlation between DSL subscribers and ICT exports in OECD countries. The result shows only 3% changing of Broadband Subscribers in OECD countries is related to ICT Export. It supports the Idea that there isn’t correlation between DSL subscribers and ICT export. ? That there’s no relationship between GDP and three factors (Internet, Mobile, Fixed telephone). The GDP has not been found to have an influence in the penetration of Internet, Mobile and Fixed telephone in Middle East. ? The relation between Population and Internet users is positive and implies direct association (in Middle East). ? A direct relation between population and Mobile users (Middle East). ? The relation between Population and Fixed telephone users is positive and it implies direct association (Middle East). Conclusion and Policy Recommendation for OECD It is quite apparent that OECD region is rapidly becoming a region with deep penetration of ICT technology. In addition in today’s era of Information Technology the world is increasingly becoming networked, technical, and closer to each other. Over the years IT has led to revolutionizing the way business is conducted, education is imparted, we communicate, we socialize, illness is cured etc. IT has made its mark in almost all spheres of life. Increasing use of DSL/ broadband technology by the citizens in general is therefore an healthy sign. Therefore it is quite encouraging that OECD nations have not only improved their performance in implementing IT initiatives but have also improved the percentage of exports to the outside world. That speaks volumes about the emphasis that these nations have been placing on quality and future readiness of these nations. It is therefore worthwhile to mention here that, for becoming more competitive and success oriented, the OECD nations; i. Must try to see the reasons behind the increasing emphasis of outsourcing towards the Asian region in general and India and China in particular. ii. Implement more such policies encouraging the IT industries. iii. The training and development opportunities in this field must be strengthened because, newer technologies and concepts are emerging faster on the horizon, and the students need to be aware of all such developments to competitively take on the world. Conclusion and Policy Recommendation for Iran Iran is a formidable component of Middle East formation. Though, Iran has been known as a progressive nation amongst Islamic nations, but the extent of IT penetration amongst the citizens in general requires more thinking. The fact that a strong relationship is found to exist between the Broadband subscribers and ICT exports is a pointer towards the readiness of the people in taking up the ICT initiatives. Moreover, Iran in particular needs to put more emphasis in imparting future ready education to its citizens and the students, the budding IT citizens of tomorrow. E-commerce and M-commerce are the trendy application of this IT era. Now a company or business entity has plenty of avenues to reach to the customer. Business on the move is the latest addition. Iran could very well prove to be an attractive market for the multinational enterprises, a cheaper manufacturing hub for the production oriented companies and an upcoming outsourcing destination for the IT companies. So there needs to be more emphasis on strengthening the communication networks, which provides an opportunity for indulging in reliable m-commerce activities, besides imparting quality education to the youth. A number of business establishments and financial institutions the world over have already explored the use of mobile commerce through mobile banking to broaden their reach by letting their customers access their account information and make transactions through their mobile phones. Similarly online trading in debt and equity instruments, mobile brokerage have empowered the common investor and made the share market more transparent and investor friendly. All these revolutionary concepts of Information Technology have the potential of substantially enhancing the work performances, but these gains prove elusive if the user cannot use the technological gadget to its fullest advantage. Therefore Iran needs to be more forthcoming these innovative ideas for a better tomorrow and a formidable place for itself in the Middle East formation.