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DOWNLOAD Changing Economy. Changing Society report (2nd edition) |
The purpose of Changing Economy, Changing Society is to study trends and prospects for the development of the IT industry in Eurasian countries, as well as the degree of influence of this industry on the transformation of Eurasian society into a modern society of the Western type.
In this report, we analyze the level of development of the IT industry in the 14 countries of Eurasian and the Baltics, including: the level of legislative development; the state’s establishment of favorable conditions; the creation of specialized high-tech parks; and the share of IT in gross national product, particularly in the exports from these countries. We paid particular attention to the development of the High Technologies Park in Belarus, a country of low degree of Westernization and a great economic dependence on post-Soviet heavy industry. We also considered the possibilities of implementing the Belarusian experience in other countries studied by our team.
The study includes the following main findings:
- In recent years, one of the most advanced legislative frameworks in the region encouraging the development of the IT industry was created in Belarus. Adoption of this legislation contributed to the rapid growth of Belarusian IT, its share in the country’s exports, and the number of employees in this sphere;
- Despite the fact that most of the Eurasian countries do not have such advanced legislation in the IT sphere as Belarus, some of them, such as the Baltic countries, Ukraine and Moldova, have made significant progress in the development of the IT industry. Exports of products in this industry have outstripped exports of many traditional industries for these countries;
- In all Eurasian countries, the local authorities attempt to develop the IT sphere and create special zones for high-tech parks, which have developed with varying degrees of success;
- The development of IT technologies in the Eurasian countries contributes significantly to the development of civil society, a responsible middle class, and the improvement of legislation in other areas.
StrategEast presents the second edition of this report. The first edition was published in 2018, and during this time the IT industry in the countries of Eurasia took several more steps forward. The governments of most Eurasian countries have done a great job to improve the legislation, tax system, and increase the investment attractiveness of the industry. The IT companies responded with a significant increase in production, exports, and the creation of hundreds of thousands of new jobs.
The future successful and intensive development of IT industry in Eurasian and Baltic region and subsequent development of a new generation of socially active and responsible citizens oriented towards Western values and capable of leading the country along the way of Westernization could benefit to a large extent from the support of leaders of the Western IT industry and governments. We present this paper as one step towards encouraging such vital support.
