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OVERVIEW
3
Figure O.1 Digital technologies have spread rapidly in much of the world
1.0
a. Digital adoption
by businesses
1.0
b. Digital adoption
by people
1.0
c. Digital adoption
by governments
0.8
0.8
0.8
Global
average
0.6
Global
average
0.6
Global
average
0.6
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.2
0.2
0.2
0
0
0
100 1,000 10,000 100,000 100 1,000 10,000 100,000 100 1,000 10,000 100,000
GDP per capita (constant 2005 US$) GDP per capita (constant 2005 US$) GDP per capita (constant 2005 US$)
Source: WDR 2016 team. Data at http://bit.do/WDR2016-FigO_1.
Note: The figures show the diffusion of digital technologies across countries as measured by the Digital Adoption Index compiled for this Report and described in detail in chapter 5 of the
full Report. GDP = gross domestic product.
and can’t participate in the digital economy in any
meaningful way. Second, some of the perceived benefits
of digital technologies are offset by emerging risks
(figure O.3). Many advanced economies face increasingly
polarized labor markets and rising inequality—in
part because technology augments higher skills while
replacing routine jobs, forcing many workers to compete
for low-paying jobs. Public sector investments
in digital technologies, in the absence of accountable
institutions, amplify the voice of elites, which can
result in policy capture and greater state control. And
because the economics of the internet favor natural
monopolies, the absence of a competitive business
environment can result in more concentrated markets,
benefiting incumbent firms. Not surprisingly, the better
educated, well connected, and more capable have
received most of the benefits—circumscribing the
gains from the digital revolution.
Figure O.2 The pessimism concerning the global outlook is not because of digital technologies,
but in spite of them
a. Global productivity b. Global inequality c. Global governance
Five-year moving average of median growth
of labor productivity per hour worked,
in percent, in 87 countries
6
Percentage change in real income between
1998 and 2008 at different levels of world
income distribution in 2003 prices
90
Share of elections that are free and fair (%)
100
4
2
0
1973
1979
1985
1991
1997
2003
2009
2015
70
50
30
10
–10
5 15 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 95
Percentile of world income distribution
Sources: Panel a: Conference Board (various years); WDR 2016 team. Panel b: Lakner and Milanovic 2013. Panel c: Bishop and Hoeffler 2014. Data at http://bit.do/WDR2016-FigO_2.
75
50
25
0
1979
1982
1985
1988
1991
1994
1997
2000
2003
2006
2009
2012
2015