[HDR 1999] BBC: Internet increases global inequality - UN

["Irfan Khan" <KhanIA@super.net.pk>]

[from BBC]


July 12, 1999 Published at 12:59 GMT 


Internet increases global inequality - UN 

The Internet is contributing to an ever-widening gap between rich and 
poor which has now reached "grotesque" proportions, according to a 
new report by the United Nations. 

The annual UN Human Development Report says the effects of 
globalisation and increasing economic integration have led to the 
rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer in nearly every way. 
In particular, it highlights the part played by the unequal spread of 
new technologies such as the Internet and biotechnology. 

The UN report says the Internet provides enormous benefits in terms 
of improved information and contacts. However, it is mainly used by 
educated young white males with access to money - so they benefit, 
while others are left out in the cold. 

The report condemns the polarisation between those who are able to 
take advantage of the benefits of economic globalisation and 
technological advances like the Internet, and those forced to suffer 
its effects. It says that, for inequalities to be reversed, the rules 
of globalisation need to be rewritten. 

Signs of increased globalisation include: 

* drug-smuggling
* money-laundering/other organised crime 
* pop culture 
* the Internet 
* the spread of epidemics 
* police cooperation 
* trade and business 

The report warns that, as globalisation has speeded up, the ability 
of the world's leaders to cope with the human consequences have 
lagged behind. 

The report's main author, Richard Jolly, says: "The world is rushing 
headlong into greater integration, driven mostly by a philosophy of 
market profitability and economic efficiency". 



Widening gap 

UN statistics provide vidence of the widening gap between rich and 
poor: 

* In nine years, the income ratio between the top 20% and the bottom 
20% has increased from 60:1 to 74:1. 

* Eighty countries have less revenue than they did a decade ago. 

* The assets of the 200 richest people exceed the combined income of 
41% of the world's total population. 

The report calls for a code of conduct for multinational corporations 
and wants new economic institutions to reduce the risks of financial 
crises like the one in Asia in 1997. 

And it says there should be a more coordinated international effort 
to deal with other damaging aspects of globalisation, such as the 
drugs trade and money laundering. 


Meeting human needs 

The UN report also ranks countries according to how well the authors 
think they meet human needs, using measures such as economic output 
and social indicators such as health and education. 

Canada is top of the index for quality of life - as it was last year. 
Norway is second, followed by the United States. The bottom places 
are taken up by African countries, with Sierra Leone bottom. The UK 
has moved up four places in the table to 10th, climbing above France. 

In its conclusion, the UNDP calls for more technological aid to be 
delivered to poor countries, warning that they risk being left out in 
the rush to monopolise the world's knowledge. 

The report also calls for strong governance - a set of rules and 
institutions at every level - to preserve the advantages of global 
markets and competition, while ensuring that globalisation works for 
people, not just for profits. 


http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/newsid_392000/392171.stm