Abstract
Mitchell Wigdor views Information and Communications Technology (ICT) as capable of spreading throughout every economic sector and enabling rapid innovation. In modern times, only electrification and the steam engine have replicated the transformative power of ICT in reorganising economic activity. To achieve sustained growth from ICT, a nation must first build a national infrastructure, invest in technology and develop a talented pool of human capital – strategic decisions best made by institutional bodies. In the first half of this book, the author provides a sharp definition of institutions and prescribes how governments can encourage the widespread adoption of ICT via institution building. The second half presents case studies of ICT usage in Singapore and Malaysia, revealing how laws, policies and institutions have contributed to different economic outcomes.
Wigdor’s discussion of ICT is expansive and thought-provoking, describing ICT as ‘a tool designed to enhance the productivity of the human brain’ (p. 5). However, device ownership is only the ‘threshold price of entry into the ICT age’ (p. 8); the world’s future economic leaders will be those nations which transition from being mere consumers of ICT to becoming world-class innovators.
The selection of Singapore and Malaysia for an in-depth study against these assumptions is interesting. Although sharing similar ethnic and historical backgrounds, their paths to economic prosperity have been highly divergent. Overall, Singapore has outpaced Malaysia in fostering advanced ICT usage throughout the economy. In Singapore, the government coordinates closely on ICT policy decisions with private entities and independent regulators; Malaysia has been slower to industrialise and slower to create independent regulatory authorities. Singapore established an Economic Development Board and National Computer Board to attract foreign direct investment (FDI); in Malaysia, the Multimedia Super Corridor initiative underperformed and lacked coordination with other industries. Despite expanding education and job training to large portions of the population, both countries have failed to achieve a creative, innovative and entrepreneurial workforce.
Overall, the book is well researched and presents a multi-disciplinary approach to evaluating technology, economics and political institutions as integrated elements of a development policy. The author’s evaluation of Singapore and Malaysia’s institutional development is consistent with the criteria he introduced in the early chapters. Finally, the author makes frequent references to Taiwan, South Korea and Japan in multiple passages, yet, there is scarce mention of China anywhere in this reading. In view of China’s sustained economic growth, a future project examining Beijing’s institution-building measures and ICT policies would be valuable.