In this series of reports, ITIF explores international IT application leadership in five fields: health IT, mobile payments, intelligent transportation systems, e-government and electronic IDs.

In a new report, ITIF examines the international leaders in ITS and suggests steps the United States should take to close the gap.

In this report ITIF identifies the leading nations in mobile payments, explains why the United States lags so far behind, and offers a set of policy recommendations for how the federal government can take steps to speed the arrival and adoption of more sophisticated forms of mobile commerce transactions.

Cybersecurity is finally getting increased attention in Washington; however, one problematic idea that appears to have gained some traction is the development of a national certification program for cybersecurity professionals. While ostensibly targeted at the public sector and to protect critical infrastructure, it will have broad implications for the private sector. Such a proposal, while sounding helpful, will offer few benefits, introduce burdensome costs to the government and the private sector, and not address the root cause of most cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

This report finds that both the United States and the United Kingdom commit roughly the same percentage of total public medical research funds to health informatics. However, the United Kingdom is uniquely positioned to benefit from advancements in health informatics research because it is significantly ahead of the United States in its transition to electronic health records among primary care providers. More importantly, the National Health Service (NHS) has made an important strategic decision to emphasize medical research as one of its core missions. To benefit from the full potential of health informatics, the United States should develop the capability to share medical data for authorized research in a timely and efficient manner.

In this report, ITIF Senior Analyst Daniel Castro explores the lessons nations can learn from the global leaders in health IT adoption. The report helps answer the questions, “Which countries are leading in health IT adoption, what explains their success, and what lessons can other nations learn from these leaders?” The report concludes with specific recommendations for policymakers to jumpstart progress on health IT in the United States.

Please join ITIF for the release of a new study “Explaining International Health IT Leadership” that explores the lessons nations can learn from the global leaders in health IT adoption.

South Korea is poised to become the world leader in green technology, through a wide array of government policies supporting green technology, strong national leadership and a substantial commitment of public funding for this effort. Other nations should look to the South Korean example as they develop their own national green IT strategies.

Join ITIF for a thoughtful debate on the impact of privacy laws on technology diffusion in health care.

In a recent article in the Houston Chronicle ITIF senior analyst Daniel Castro along with Rice University’s Dan Wallach and Chris Bronk discuss the importance of creating safeguards against cyber attacks. While the government cannot address the threat of cyberspace attacks alone, it can play a meaningful role in fostering the type of public-private partnerships that will be able to help secure our digital infrastructure.

On Internet Evolution, ITIF discusses the cyber security challenges facing the Obama administration and the role government can play in meeting these challenges.

On Internet Evolution, ITIF responds to a Washington Post article on the role of the private sector in certifying health IT systems. ITIF argues that government should work with industry in developing health IT system standards.

Join ITIF and an expert panel for an event exploring policies Congress and the Administration can consider to drive the use of IT to enhance mobility, increase transportation safety and make a positive impact on the environment.

In this report, ITIF & LSE Enterprise estimate the impact on employment in the United Kingdom of additional investment in three important technologies: broadband Internet, intelligent transportation systems, and the smart grid.

Please join ITIF and our distinguished panel to discuss how IT is shaping medical research and learn about current projects to harness massive amounts of computing power and data to tackle important health issues. In addition, this event will explore possible national strategies to advance these technologies for the benefit of all Americans.

Later this month Congress will consider legislation to eliminate the exemption on performance royalties that terrestrial radio has enjoyed for years. In this WebMemo, ITIF argues that Congress should promote technology neutral policies that do not unfairly advantage or disadvantage any particular technology or business model. Moreover, Congress should ensure that the rules and regulations governing the royalty rate setting process are fair and reasonable for all broadcast platforms.

Innovators continue to find new ways to use information technology (IT) to make our lives better. Looking forward, IT will continue to be a critical component of solutions to many social challenges. But policymakers must create the right environment for technological progress. This article in the March/April 2009 edition of IEEE Internet Computing offers 10 guiding principals for creating technology policy that spurs and sustains digital progress.

In the Fall 2008/2009 issue of the Yale Journal of Law and Technology, ITIF lays out a framework for the new administration’s technology policy to help spur growth and progress throughout the economy and government.

This report provides a detailed analysis and estimate of the short-term jobs impacts of using the stimulus package to spur investment in three critical digital networks: broadband, the smart grid and health IT.

Please join ITIF for a presentation by Dr. Joris Al, General Director of The Netherlands’ Centre for Transport and Navigation in the Ministry of Transport, on Holland’s bold new proposal for a nationwide pay-per-use road pricing program. Holland’s “Kilometerprijs ” (price per kilometer) program will replace fixed vehicle (ownership and gas) taxes to charge Dutch citizens by their annual distances driven, differentiated by time, place, and environmental characteristics.

In our 2007 report Digital Prosperity: Understanding the Economic Benefits of the Information Technology Revolution ITIF documented how IT, since the mid-1990s, has been the principal driver of increased economic growth not only in the United States but also in many other nations. However, IT is also at the core of dramatic improvements in the quality of life for individuals around the world. In this new report, we show how IT is the key enabler of many, if not most, of today’s key innovations and improvements in our lives and society—from better education and health care, to a cleaner and more energy-efficient environment, to safer and more secure communities and nations.

In his recent article in FedTech, ITIF Senior Analyst George Ou discusses ways companies can better manage their IT power use to become more environmentally friendly. Ou argues by adopting energy monitoring and management best practices on both the client and server side firms can also save money by efficiently reducing energy use.

Americans are of two minds about e-commerce; they like its convenience, but they worry about issues like sending credit card information over the Internet. At this upcoming ITIF Forum, John Horrigan of the Pew Internet & American Life Project will discuss the results of a new Pew study examining the prospects and challenges in expanding e-commerce shopping. In particular, John will discuss the frictions and barriers in the online shopping environment and where to target efforts to address those frictions so that all Americans can benefit.

Benchmarking Digital Inclusion, a presentation by ITIF President Rob Atkinson to the Digital Inclusion Forum on December 10, 2007.

After a long period over which Europe was catching up to the United States in productivity, this trend has reversed. Lower levels of investment in information and communications technology (ICT) and less effective use of existing ICT explain a significant share of the lower rates of productivity growth in the European Union over the last decade when compared to the United States. The report argues that regaining robust productivity growth will be critical for EU nations over the next several decades as they struggle with a myriad of challenges, including an aging population.

In a new report, ITIF explores the benefits of using information technology in the health care sector, such as reduced medical costs, improved medical care, and increased access to personal health information. The paper reviews the obstacles that have prevented the widespread adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) and proposes a number of policy recommendations to speed adoption. Specifically, the paper discusses the benefits of establishing independent health record data banks as a sustainable and market-based approach to implementing EHRs. ITIF also recommends other methods to leverage federal resources to speed EHR adoption.

There have been surprisingly few attempts to catalogue what is known about the economic impact of information and communications technology (IT). In a new report, ITIF does just that, examining the impact of IT in five key areas: 1) productivity; 2) employment; 3) more efficient markets; 4) higher quality goods and services; and 5) innovation and new products and services. The report finds that the integration of IT into virtually all aspects of the economy and society is creating a digitally-enabled economy that is responsible for generating the lion’s share of economic growth and prosperity, both here and abroad, including in developing nations. Importantly, the “IT engine” does not appear likely to run out of gas anytime soon and should power robust growth for at least the next decade, provided that policy makers take the right steps. Toward that end the report lays out five key public policy principles for driving digital prosperity: 1) give the digital economy its due; 2) actively encourage digital innovation and transformation of economic sectors; 3) use the tax code to spur IT investment; 4) encourage universal digital literacy and adoption; and 5) do no harm.

The Past and Future of America’s Economy focuses on how periodic cycles of technological and economic change have fundamentally reordered the way we work, the organization of business and markets, and the role of government. It examines this process of change over the past 150 years and explores the responses of people and institutions. The book then analyzes today’s New Economy, including the new information technology system, and effects on markets, organizations, workers, and governance. Taking into account the historical record, the book discusses the shortcomings of prevailing liberal and conservative economic doctrines and lays out a new growth economics agenda aimed at maximizing the productivity and innovation-enhancing forces of the New Economy.