The IER 2012 highlights the growing importance of the software industry for developing countries, building on earlier UNCTAD work on the promotion of the ICT sector in general and the software industry in particular. The report contains new data and features the new UNCTAD National Software System Index. It highlights the role of free and open source software for the development of a local software industry, reviews selected country case studies and presents policy options

The Digital Economy Report 2019 on "Value creation and capture: Implications for developing countries" takes stock of recent trends in the global digital landscape and discusses the development and policy implications of data and digital platforms. A key feature of the evolving digital economy is the increasing role of digital data as an economic resource, together with digital platforms as new influential actors, with capacity to collect, process, analyze and monetize data. The report considers policy options for countries to help ensure that they capture a fair part of the value created in the digital economy for inclusive development. Key issues include the market impact of emerging technologies and digital platforms, the impact on smaller businesses in developing countries and the implications for infrastructure, entrepreneurship, skills, competition, data flows, data protection, taxation and other relevant policies.

The seventh in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it, 'Doing Business' presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 183 economies--from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe--and over time. Regulations affecting 10 stages of a business's life are measured: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and closing a business. Data in 'Doing Business 2010' are current as of June 1, 2009. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where and why.

The Information Economy Report 2009: Trends and Outlook in Turbulent Times (IER 2009) is the fourth in a series published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The report is one of the few publications to monitor global trends in information and communication technologies (ICTs) as they affect developing countries. It serves as a valuable reference for policymakers in those nations. It gives special attention to the impact of the global financial crisis on ICTs. The report offers a fresh assessment of the diffusion of key ICT applications between 2003 and 2008. It includes chapters on the use of ICTs in the business sector and on the impact of the financial crisis on ICT trade.

Women, Business and the Law 2021 is the seventh in a series of annual studies measuring the laws and regulations that affect women’s economic opportunity in 190 economies. The project presents eight indicators structured around women’s interactions with the law as they move through their lives and careers: Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Entrepreneurship, Assets, and Pension. This year’s report updates all indicators as of October 1, 2020 and builds evidence of the links between legal gender equality and women’s economic inclusion. By examining the economic decisions women make throughout their working lives, as well as the pace of reform over the past 50 years, Women, Business and the Law 2021 makes an important contribution to research and policy discussions about the state of women’s economic empowerment. Prepared during a global pandemic that threatens progress toward gender equality, this edition also includes important findings on government responses to COVID-19 and pilot research related to childcare and women’s access to justice.

Maps capture data expressing the economic complexity of countries from Albania to Zimbabwe, offering current economic measures and as well as a guide to achieving prosperity Why do some countries grow and others do not? The authors of The Atlas of Economic Complexity offer readers an explanation based on "Economic Complexity," a measure of a society's productive knowledge. Prosperous societies are those that have the knowledge to make a larger variety of more complex products. The Atlas of Economic Complexity attempts to measure the amount of productive knowledge countries hold and how they can move to accumulate more of it by making more complex products. Through the graphical representation of the "Product Space," the authors are able to identify each country's "adjacent possible," or potential new products, making it easier to find paths to economic diversification and growth. In addition, they argue that a country's economic complexity and its position in the product space are better predictors of economic growth than many other well-known development indicators, including measures of competitiveness, governance, finance, and schooling. Using innovative visualizations, the book locates each country in the product space, provides complexity and growth potential rankings for 128 countries, and offers individual country pages with detailed information about a country's current capabilities and its diversification options. The maps and visualizations included in the Atlas can be used to find more viable paths to greater productive knowledge and prosperity.

The World's Women 2010 uniquely reviews and analyses the current availability of data and assesses progress made in the reporting of national statistics, as opposed to internationally prepared estimates, relevant to gender concerns. Published every five years, the World's Women sets out a blueprint for improving the availability of data in the areas of demographics, health, education, work, violence against women, poverty, decision-making and human rights.

Following his The World Economy: a Millennial Perspective, Angus Maddison here offers a rare insight into the history and political influence of national accounts and national accounting. He demonstrates that such statistical data can shed light on ...