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Download “Сhanging economy, changing society. IT industry in post-soviet countries |
The purpose of Changing Economy, Changing Society is to study trends and prospects for the development of the IT industry in the countries of Eurasian and Baltic countries, as well as the degree of influence of this industry on the transformation of Eurasian and Baltic 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 old post-Soviet heavy industry. We analyzed both the results of the work of the High Technologies Park and its prospects based on the latest decisions of the Belarusian authorities aimed at further development of the IT sphere. 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 export of the country, the number of employees in this sphere;
- Despite the fact that most of the countries of the Eurasian and Baltic region do not have such advanced legislation in the IT sphere as Belarus, some of them – the Baltic countries, Ukraine, Moldova – have made significant progress in the development of the IT industry. Exports of products in this industry have outstripped exports of many traditional “old” industries for these
- In all countries of the Eurasian and Baltic region, the local authorities attempt to develop the IT sphere, create special zones for high-tech parks, which have developed with varying degrees of
- The development of IT technologies in Eurasian and Baltic countries contributes significantly to the development of civil society and a responsible middle class and the improvement of legislation in other areas;
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.
