Advancing Reinaldo Gonsalves’ Model of Global Economic Insertion:  Opportunities for the English Speaking Caribbean with Global Digital Connectivity By Ian W. Walcott

Overview Introduction – Gonsalves’ Model of Global Economic Insertion What is Global Digital Connectivity? Openness in Liberal Democracies Current Caribbean Reality in the face of the Digital Revolution Opportunities for English-speaking Caribbean Returning to Gonsalves Conclusion

What is Global Insertion? The Reinaldo Goncalves Model Commercial openness = coefficient of exports over GNP; Financial openness = ratio of foreign debt to GNP; Third level of openness “real production” the amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) the portion of capital stock detained by multinational corporations (MNCs)

What is Global Insertion What is Global Insertion? New Consideration – Global Digital Connectivity Brave new world where international actors and global citizens are explicitly connected to each other in real time by and through enabling technologies.

What is Driving this Connectivity? Advancement of broadband, nanotechnology and data compression; Global banking and finance industry Incursion of multinational corporations and the erosion of the nation-state (broadly defined as globalization) Education industry driven by virtual learning and cross-border research Online social networking

What is Driving this Connectivity? Integrative technologies linking satellites and mobile telephony Demand for real time information by global consumers Supplied by few dominant global media and content providers Global entertainment industry providing content over Internet Target - new generation of consumers born after 1990 Reconfiguration of the global political economy into interlocking large regional blocks Increased demand for openness and transparency in Western liberal democracies Driving e-government solutions.

Openness in Liberal Democracies The Millennials – New Digitized Generation Obama effect on openness via the Internet Transparency through e-government Increased demand to control personal consumption:

Openness in Liberal Democracies: Increased demand to control personal consumption Air travel Courier packages – DHL, Fedex, UPS Online banking and access to personal funds Online shopping Online social networking: professional and otherwise Online entertainment: music downloads, movies, blogging, video interaction

The Current Caribbean Reality in the face of the Digital Revolution Why is the Caribbean so seemingly slow to adopt and implement new technologies? What are the inhibitors to creating a culture of innovation? Do we see the benefits? Culturally, do we wish to participate or are we happy and satisfied with our position on the periphery within the status quo? If not, what macro social and economies policies can be put in place today to engender a culture of innovation?

A New Ranking of the World’s most innovative countries Source: A New Ranking of the World’s most innovative countries by Economist Intelligence Unit, 2009.

Challenges to the Region The dominant MNCs in the region are themselves behind the innovation curve. Conservatism comes at a high cost: Risk aversion Slow adoption of new technologies Breeds a culture of fear and resistance Inhibits a culture of innovation. Additionally, at the global level the Caribbean is way behind in the e-readiness index. Take a look at the latest rankings for 2009.

Opportunities for the English-speaking Caribbean English language advantage Solid education system that can be packaged and sold Advancing CSME and regional business integration Global demand for Caribbean cultural content Greater linkages to tourism product

Opportunities for the English-speaking Caribbean E-government needs to expand more rapidly – Govt acting a hub Example tax collection Political parties using the Net Capitalizing on short distances to increase inter-regional trade Increase R&D spend

Leading Countries: R&D Expenditure

Returning to Gonsalves Next stage – develop measurement tool for global digital connectivity Number of Internet Service Providers Computers per household Internet connectivity per household Broadband capacity on a country level Implications for domestic and foreign policies

Global Political Economic Influence Ability to reconfigure global political economy through major seismic shifts Ability to determine and/or alter international agenda. Ability to influence global governance through multilateralism (WTO, UN structure, IMF, World Bank, Regional Development Banks, etc).

Global Insertion & GPE Influence Matrix Global Insertion Including Global Digital Connectivity HIGH 3 HIGH GLOBAL INSERTION LOW GPE INFLUENCE 4 HIGH GLOBAL INSERTION HIGH GPE INFLUENCE MEDIUM 1 LOW GLOBAL INSERTION LOW GPE INFLUENCE 2 LOW GLOBAL INSERTION HIGH GPE INFLUENCE Global Political Economic (GPE)Influence LOW MEDIUM HIGH

Conclusion Increasing importance in measuring digital connectivity Serious implications for national and regional policies Information Foreign policy Trade Opportunities still exist Advantages for the English-speaking Caribbean Language Stable democracies Comparatively high level of human development