US No Longer the World's Technology Leader?

“US 'no longer technology king'.” That, according to a report issued by the World Economic Forum, as reported by the BBC.

The US has lost its position as the world's primary engine of technology innovation, according to a report by the World Economic Forum.

The US is now ranked seventh in the body's league (sic) table measuring the impact of technology on the development of nations.

A deterioration of the political and regulatory environment in the US prompted the fall, the report said.

I’m not sure what sort of wholesale political and regulatory deterioration we experienced last year, but the “net neutrality” debate couldn’t have helped any. But, I digress. Last year the WEF’s annual report on technology listed the US as number one; this year we’ve slipped to number seven. Who’s Number One? Here’s the top ten:

NETWORKED READINESS INDEX RANKINGS 2006 (2005)
1: Denmark (3)
2: Sweden (8)
3: Singapore (2)
4: Finland (5)
5: Switzerland (9)
6: Netherlands (12)
7: US (1)
8: Iceland (4)
9: UK (10)
10: Norway (13)

Why is Denmark Number One?

"Denmark, in particular, has benefited from the very effective government e-leadership, reflected in early liberalisation of the telecommunications sector, a first-rate regulatory environment and large availability of e-government services," said Irene Mia, senior economist at World Economic Forum.

I’m not picking on Denmark, but what does “…very effective government e-leadership…” and “large availability of e-government services” really mean, I wonder? I dunno about you, but I’ll take products and/or services from Microsoft, Apple, Boeing, and General Electric…just to name a few…over “e-government services” any day. I just did a quick mental inventory on the technology in El Casa Móvil De Pennington and there’s not a single example of anything from the top six countries on that list (I used to own a Nokia—Finland—cell phone, however).

And…in a rather mysterious turn of events, today’s BBC article conflicts with an article published this past Tuesday that said, among other things:

The US has regained first place in an annual global league table of countries making most extensive and constructive use of computers and the internet.

America has topped the latest Networked Readiness Index from the World Economic Forum, winning back its top position from this year's number two, Singapore.

Note that both BBC articles quote the “Networked Readiness Index.” Which one is wrong, one wonders? At any rate… consider the report’s source (the World Economic Forum) and who conducted it (“Insead, the Paris-based business school”) when accepting or rejecting its conclusions.

Outside the Beltway has more discussion, including links to the Global Information Technology Report resource page.