Government policies that encourage competition and innovation can play a major part in helping developing and transition countries establish and expand ICT networks that in turn stimulate economic growth and help domestic businesses compete internationally as stated by the UN Conference of Trade and Development.
It has published a new Information Economy Report 2006 which states that currently 44% of developing and transition countries have national plans for fostering their information societies, and 20% are developing such plans. Few of the countries that have such plans scrutinise how effective they are. The report also says that government ICT policies can be applied directly to the provision of more efficient and transparent government services. The report devotes a chapter to Government ICT policies that may open up new opportunities and methods for poverty reduction. It provides a model framework for assessments, and it is foreseen that UNCTAD, in the near future, will help governments to carry out reviews of ICT policies much as it now assists countries with Investment Policy Reviews. The UNCTAD ICT policy review framework is a generic model which can be used and adapted by developing countries, and has three main components.
