Internet and the use of data for International Affairs

International Indicators by NGOs and other insititutions
Globalization Index (Foreign Policy)

Methodology

F OREIGN  P OLICY  produces the Globalization Index in collaboration with A.T. Kearney's Global Business Policy Council . The Council is a strategic service of the management consultancy A.T. Kearney, an eds company. The A.T. Kearney/F OREIGN  P OLICY Magazine Globalization Index TM  encompasses several key indicators: Globalization in goods and services is measured through the share of international trade (exports of goods and services plus imports of goods and services) in gross domestic product ( GDP ), as well as the convergence of domestic prices and world prices. Financial globalization is measured through income payments and receipts, the inflow and outflow of foreign direct investment, and the inflow and outflow of portfolio capital, all measured as a share of GDP . The globalization of personal contact is measured with international tourists and travelers as a share of population, minutes of incoming and outgoing international telephone calls per capita, and transfer payments and receipts as a share of gdp. Finally, three elements comprise the Internet connectivity indicator—the number of Internet users, the number of Internet hosts, and the number of secure servers, all measured on per capita basis.

The most recent available data were collected from a number of international sources, including the World Bank's World Development Indicators 2000 (Washington: World Bank, 2000), the International Monetary Fund's International Financial Statistics Yearbook (Washington: International Monetary Fund, 2000), the International Telecommunication Union's Yearbook of Statistics 2000 (Geneva: International Telecommunication Union, 2000), and the Secure Server Survey, available online from Netcraft.

In "Life is Unfair: Inequality in the World"(F OREIGN  P OLICY , Summer 1998), Nancy Birdsall examines why income inequality is on the rise worldwide and offers suggestions on what nations can—and cannot—do about it. Dani Rodrik's Has Globalization Gone Too Far? (Washington: Institute for International Economics, 1997) warns that the new global economy generates a race to the bottom in labor standards. Daniel W. Drezner argues that there is no evidence to support a global race to the bottom in "Bottom Feeders" (F OREIGN  P OLICY , November/December 2000). David Dollar and Aart Kraay cite extensive data to challenge the notion that economic growth exacerbates income inequality in "Growth Is Good for the Poor" (Washington: World Bank, 2000).

"The State of the Internet 2000," a report published by the United States Internet Council and available online, notes the strong trend toward the development of non-English-language Web sites and offers a comprehensive overview of emerging Internet markets in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Rim. Manuel CastellsÕs "Information Technology and Global Capitalism" in Will Hutton and Anthony Giddens, eds. On the Edge: Living with Global Capitalism (London: Jonathan Cape, 2000) offers a philosophical perspective on how information technology has enabled forms of capitalism that are truly global. In "Think Again: The Internet" (F OREIGN  P OLICY , Summer 1999), Andrew L. Shapiro warns that, without careful regulation, digital technology may devastate low-income communities and eliminate personal privacy.

Anthony Giddens's Runaway World: How Globalization is Reshaping Our Lives (London: Profile Books, 1999) argues that the battleground of the globalized 21st century will pit fundamentalism against cosmopolitan tolerance. David RothkopfÕs "In Praise of Cultural Imperialism?" (F OREIGN  P OLICY , Summer 1997) suggests that the world will be a better place thanks to the spread of U.S. culture.