DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLIC POLICY
National policymakers have an extremely difficult job. They are confronted by tremendous
global trends over which they have little or no control. They have to manage complex systems
of interconnected departments within the context of an even more complex system of
government, non-governmental, and private entities. They have to make high-risk, high-stakes
decisions about public sector policies and programs. And they work with limited, sometimes
extremely limited, resources. Policymakers must often accommodate the interests of other
countries, multilateral institutions, and transnational corporations, while considering the needs
and welfare of their citizens and the development of their national economy. They are
challenged to provide the institutional environment within which the economy can function
effectively, craft regulations that moderate market failures, set monetary policies that balance
unemployment and inflation, build infrastructure and supply essential public services that
address the social and economic needs of the country, consider the impact of government
spending on economic growth, and provide leadership that can nurture and facilitate
economic and social development.
Within this highly constrained policy space, how can policymakers balance global trends
and national needs and set policies that foster economic growth and social development?
What are the key factors that are most likely to make a difference when making policy
decisions and public investments? What roles do technology and education play in this mix?
While the answers to these questions challenge the brightest economists and most dedicated
policymakers, they are, for this article, the context in which I explore the connections between
ICT-based education reform and development policy.