정보화정책의 진단과 발전방향 : 우리나라 정보화정책의 성과와 과제 = Korean Informatization Policies : Analysis and Recommendations ; Informatization Policies and Strategies in Korea: History, Performance and Tasks

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The Korean government has put emphasis on the strategic role of information technology(IT) as one of key drivers for economic growth since the early 1980`s. It did not only attempted to foster IT-producing industries (IT industrial policy), but also adopted several policy measures to encourage the effective use of IT in many sectors (informatization policy). The paper attempts to examine the history of Korean informatization and IT industrial policies, to analyze their positive and negative effects, and finally, to answer how to improve the policy performance. In particular, the paper suggests three policy recommendations: first, IT-producing sector should not be regarded as an infinitely growing industry. IT can contribute to economic growth or productivity improvements only if it is used effectively. Second, the benefits from the use of IT (or informatization) may be maximized when economic agents use IT as a result of their optimizing behavior. Finally, I stress the role of information, knowledge and digital contents in a knowledge-based economy. Korea could not be a developed country in the 21st century, unless it would be a world-class information and knowledge producing country.