OECD REFUTES JOB LOSS FEARS FROM E-COMMERCE (fwd)
Karin Geiselhart (kgeisel@actonline.com.au)
Sat, 03 Oct 1998 18:48:37 +1000
Don't think this report has been posted yet:
>Subject: OECD REFUTES JOB LOSS FEARS FROM E-COMMERCE; E-COMMERCE EXPECTED
>TO EXPLODE, OECD SAYS
>
>The Financial Post Tuesday, September 29, 1998
>
>OECD REFUTES JOB LOSS FEARS FROM E-COMMERCE
>
> By Jill Vardy, Technology Reporter
>
>OTTAWA — The growth of electronic commerce could, in the long run create
>more jobs than it kills, says an international study.
> The Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development report was
>released yesterday ahead of its meeting in Ottawa next week on e-commerce.
>It disputes the common belief efficiencies resulting from online business
>will cause widespread job losses. "There is no evidence so far of
>widespread displacement of workers," said Donald Johnston, secretary
>general of the OECD.
> But the report concludes the effect on jobs will depend on when the
>measurements are taken.
> "It seems likely that in the short term there may be net employment
>creation as firms experiment with both modes of commerce, [but] that in the
>medium term, there may be losses, especially in certain sectors.
> "But in the longer term, the combination of new products, extended market
>reach, income gains and lower prices derived from productivity increases
>will lead to net employment gains," the report says.
> Jobs will be created as companies work to create content for e commerce
>services — software, online services, audio visual and music products,
>publishing and other yetto be invented products that cater to online
>businesses. These jobs will offset losses in more traditional business
>services, the OECD predicts.
> It's clear e commerce will require new skills that will drive demand for
>information technology professionals. "This may exacerbate a supply
>shortage, which has received great attention in the U.S., although it is
>not peculiar to that country," the report says.
> The OECD research found there are about 600,000 unfilled information
>technology jobs worldwide, more than half of them in the U.S. Canada has
>about 20,000 to 30,000 spaces waiting for skilled workers.
> The demand for new skills is going to place greater demand on schools. The
>OECD says students must be made familiar with Internet technology, so the
>cost of their training and gaps in the Internet participation rate will be
>reduced.
> Canadian Industry Minister John Manley said it's crucial countries
>cooperate to create a consistent set of rules to govern electronic commerce.
> "If we want to keep that global marketplace open, then we must move very
>soon to agree on common approaches and mutually acceptable standards," he
>said. "If each country works independently to establish its own system, it
>could cripple the potential for international electronic commerce."
>
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>
>THE GLOBE AND MAIL TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1998
>
>E-COMMERCE EXPECTED TO EXPLODE, OECD SAYS
>
> Predicted to reach a trillion dollars worldwide
> in the next 7 years; Ottawa meeting to push
> harmonizing regulations
>
> HEATHER SCOFFIELD, Parliamentary Bureau, Ottawa
>
> Electronic commerce is expected to explode to about a trillion dollars
>worldwide in the next seven years from a current $26 billion (U.S.) a year,
>a research paper by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
>Development says.
> "E commerce will change the way business is conducted," the paper said.
>"Traditional intermediaries' functions will be replaced, new products and
>markets will be developed, [and] new and far closer relationships will be
>created between business and consumers."
> E commerce is expected to transform significantly sectors involved in
>transmission or production of information — such as postal services,
>communications, radio and television, finance, travel, stock trading and
>software.
> For now, about 80 per cent of electronic commerce is in the form of
>business to business transactions; direct sales with consumers are still in
>their infancy.
> Many consumers are reluctant to do business electronically because they
>are concerned about security of payment, fraudulent merchants, privacy of
>personal data and difficulty in accessing E commerce merchants, the paper
>said.
> But if governments address those consumer issues by regulating some
>aspects of electronic commerce, the potential for growth is enormous, the
>study said.
> "Policy decisions will have a major impact on the kind of environment in
>which E commerce will develop and should therefore be created with care and
>with due recognition of its fragile and evolving nature."
> The research paper was released in advance of a high profile OECD
>conference in Ottawa next week, where ministers from 26 of the 29 OECD
>countries will try to hash out how to regulate global electronic commerce.
> Hosted by Industry Minister John Manley, the OECD ministers aim to find
>common ground on such issues as protection of personal data and privacy,
>taxation, intellectual property rights and encryption.
> "If each country works independently to establish its own system, it could
>cripple the potential for international electronic commerce," Mr. Manley
>said yesterday in a news conference. "But by coming together now, the OECD
>members will be able to take stock, reach some consensus on the areas of
>mutual agreement and begin to lay the groundwork for electronic commerce on
>a global scale."
> But two of the world's major E-commerce players are already at
>loggerheads. The European Union recently issued a directive requiring
>European companies that want to export personal data to meet high standards
>protecting that data. Canada is preparing legislation that will meet the
>European protection standards, but the United States — the source of 80 per
>cent of the world's E commerce — is objecting to the EU directive,
>insisting on an open, unregulated market.
> When the EU directive goes into effect on Oct. 24, much of the United
>States' international flow of data could be blocked, officials said. The
>dispute will no doubt cloud the Ottawa E commerce meeting next week, they
>said.
> Mr. Manley is putting on a strong last minute push to get Canada's
>regulatory framework into place before the OECD meeting. This week will be
>full of announcements and indications of Canada's position, in an attempt
>to set the tone for the ministers' meetings, which begin Oct. 7.
> Today, Mr. Manley and Revenue Minister Herb Dhaliwal will discuss how
>Ottawa plans to deal with taxation of E commerce transactions. And on
>Thursday, Mr. Manley is expected to talk about government policy on privacy
>and encryption in E commerce.
> The private sector will be watching the announcements out of concern that
>Ottawa will be heavy-handed in its regulations, and inhibit the free
>market, said Eric Iankelevic, an E commerce specialist at the Canadian
>Chamber of Commerce.
> The chamber has made its fears well known, and there are signs that Ottawa
>is listening, he said, by basing its privacy code on practices already used
>by business and by promising a neutral taxation policy.
> "We're optimistic we will see legislation that we can live with," he said,
>adding that the Canadian proposals could serve as an example to the OECD on
>how to be responsible to consumers while giving business free reign at the
>same time.
>
PhD student
Faculty of Communication
University of Canberra
http://student.canberra.edu.au/~u833885/home.htm