APEC 주요국의 정보경쟁력 비교 연구

A Comparative Study on Information Competitiveness among APEC Countries

This study has created an information competitiveness index on APEC countries, under the assumption that information competitiveness is a determining factor of a nation􎫿s international competitiveness. In order to assess the information competitiveness of selected nations, a new model of information competitiveness index has been developed using a new computation method. The result obtained by this study indicates that among APEC countries, the state of a nation􎫿s economy bears a close relationship to its level of information competitiveness. Moreover, analyses by year and by group have revealed that the use of information was a major factor affecting information competitiveness index scoring among the APEC nations studied. The result also showed a sharp rise in the information competitiveness index scores among these countries during the period between 1992 and 1997, which may be explained by the dramatic increase in advanced information use experienced during the same period thanks to progress made in IT technology and the IT industries, and also the massive expansion in equipment investment in this area. It may be therefore inferred that the level of information competitiveness reached by these APEC nations is the direct result of the advancement achieved by national information industries and the surge of investment in information infrastructures. The results of this study further suggest that information infrastructure and use of information equipment and devices not only accelerate progress in the information industry, but also boost the overall national efficiency, whether at an industrial or individual level, driving up industrial outputs and ultimately international competitiveness. The implication of this study, therefore, is that Korea, in order to leverage its international competitiveness and become a full-fledged member of the group of most advanced industrialized nations, must step up its investment in underdeveloped areas of the national information technology environment and provide adequate policy support toward this direction.