The role of technology in enhancing economic growth

July 13, 2009 written by John Watson

Recently I attended a leadership breakfast at the Georgia Public Policy Institute.  The speaker was James Glassman, a former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs and current president of World Growth Institute, an organization that promotes global economic development.  At the State Department he was responsible for creating the “public face” of the U.S. and he talked about how his office used the latest technologies and Internet features to enhance the U.S. image.  In his work there, technology was key, in that it helps break down barriers where nothing else can.  It helped encourage “the Grand Conversation” as he called it – a process of worldwide discussions and interaction through the use of new technologies, particularly social-networking technologies.  Look at the recent example in Iran where news of the protests and elections were getting out via Twitter.  He then talked about how investment in technology can help with economic growth on a national and state level.  In his opinion, states that encourage information technology will be states that prosper.  A way to do that, he believes, is to readdress some of the old-standing regulations on telecommunications technology that no longer make sense given today’s economy.  By updating current regulatory conditions, consumers will benefit from increased competition – meaning more investment and better prices.  And, Glassman noted, updated regulatory policies will help encourage the “Grand Conversation”.

Citizens for a Digital Future supports public policies that will encourage deployment and enhancement of broadband and digital technologies.  What Glassman said about technologies increasing economic growth, as well as worldwide “conversations”, makes a lot of sense and I hope to see more public policies that will encourage that kind of technology growth.