The World Bank’s 2021 Global Development Report calls for strengthening national data systems to provide tools for generating public policies that help advance development goals and to explore the types of governance arrangements needed to support the generation and use of data in an ethical, equitable, safe and secure manner.
In publication entitled “World Development Report 2021: Data for a better life”, World Bank Group President David Malpass said that “the perspective of the poor has been largely absent from the global debate on data governance” and must be urgently heard. Lack of institutions, financial resources and decision-making autonomy in low-income countries “hinder the safe implementation and effectiveness of data and governance systems,” he observed.
The report provides examples of how better information and data systems can improve governments' ability to prioritize and target resources more efficientlyIn Haiti, for example, mango producers are using technology to track their products through to final sale, cutting out middlemen and increasing their share of the profits. The private sector is also using data to power platform-based businesses that generate international trade in services and drive economic growth.
The report notes that COVID-19 has accentuated the opportunities and challenges associated with the use of data and emphasizes the urgency of equitable access to them and the improvement of their governance. The shifts towards virtual work illustrate the digital divide between those who have and do not have access to technology, highlighting the challenges related to unequal access to mobile phones and the Internet for low-income countries. In this regard, the World Bank Chief Economist Carmen Reinhart stressed that innovative uses of data “offer new opportunities” to understand the spread of COVID-19, evaluate policies to mitigate the pandemic, and direct government resources toward those most in need.
However, the report warns that data accumulation can also lead to a concentration of economic and political power, raising concerns that “data could be misused in ways that harm citizens.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, countries have reused mobile phone records to monitor the spread of the virus, a practice that could raise a risk of misuse or privacy concerns. It also highlights the need to strengthen cybersecurity and protect personal data. It also highlights that governance arrangements to address data concerns “remain in a primary state, particularly in low-income countries.” A global survey of 80 countries found that only 40% of countries have best-practice data regulations.
In the text also A chapter appears on the role of competition, trade and tax policy in creating value in the data economy. While trade in goods has remained stable over the past decade, the analysis finds that global trade in data-driven services, such as telecommunications, finance and other business activities, “has grown exponentially.” It notes that global data flows “increased more than twenty-fold between 2007 and 2017” and are expected to quadruple between 2017 and 2022. Global trade in data-driven services now accounts for half of services trade. The report says there are a variety of multilateral, regional and bilateral forums dealing with digital trade, including through the World Trade Organization (WTO) joint statement initiative on e-commerce.
To address data inequalities, the report recommends prioritizing better representation and access to data for marginalized people, and optimizing data governance at the national level. In addition, recommends that international cooperation harmonize policies to ensure that the value of data be leveraged to benefit all and inform actions towards a green, resilient and inclusive recovery. In particular, it proposes international participation in WTO agreements for trade in data-related services, reform of international tax rights for data-driven businesses, regional collaboration on data infrastructure development, bilateral collaboration on law enforcement and antitrust regulation, and harmonization of technical standards to support interoperability.
Furthermore, the World Bank publication emphasizes that these actions are critical to working towards "a new social contract for data» that enables the use and reuse of data to create economic and social value and foster citizen trust that they will not be harmed by any misuse of the data they provide.
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