"The Internet is the fastest-growing tool of communication ever... It is creating a new network of global knowledge and exchange, but it also risks polarizing the world into the connected and the unconnected. Information technology is reshaping the global economy, allowing services like software development and data processing to be outsourced across borders, transforming cities like Bangalore into global tech hubs."
— United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Human Development Report, 1999
Which of the following best explains how the developments described in the passage affected the global economy in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries?
- AThey led to a revival of mercantilist trade strategies focused on the accumulation of physical gold and silver reserves.
- They facilitated the growth of knowledge-based economies and increased the outsourcing of service-sector jobs to developing countries.Answer
- CThey resulted in the complete homogenization of global culture and the eradication of regional traditions.
- DThey served as the primary driver of the Green Revolution, which successfully promoted organic, eco-friendly farming practices.
Answer
They facilitated the growth of knowledge-based economies and increased the outsourcing of service-sector jobs to developing countries.
The rise of the internet and information technology in the late twentieth century dramatically lowered communication costs and facilitated the instant transfer of data. This allowed businesses to offshore service-sector tasks, such as customer support and software development, to countries with lower labor costs and educated workforces, particularly in South Asia (like Bangalore, India), leading to the rise of knowledge-based economies.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
The role of communication technologies in reshaping global economic networks and labor division in the late twentieth century.