Technology commercialization is often named as one of the weaknesses of American firms. Concerns have been raised that both private and publicly funded U.S. technologies have found applications in foreign markets before they were introduced here. The VCR is a prominent example, and there are many others, including facsimile machines and winglets and laminar flow designs in commercial jet aircraft.
While government funding of basic science is often viewed as compensating for a market failure, federal involvement in commercialization of technology is less often justified. Market forces and signals weed out many, if not most, technologies that get to the prototype stage, but this is an appropriate and valuable role for the market. Moreover, even without a technology policy that would be deemed interventionist by the standards of many East Asian or European developed nations, the United States remains a highly innovative nation, and in some sections (e.g., biotechnology) innovation in America clearly outdistances any foreign competition. Yet in other sections (notably electronics) some analysts are concerned that American firms face higher hurdles than do many of their foreign competitors in developing and deploying innovative new technologies.
This study will assess the importance of several factors in decisions to develop and introduce products in several case studies. The cases selected will be emerging technologies in areas expected to make disproportionate contributions to the nations economic performance, such as, for example, electronics, composite materials, biotechnology, or massively parallel computation.
The factors to be analyzed will include corporate strategies, technological uncertainties, market uncertainties, availability of finance, and government regulatory, tax, and technology policy. Depending on what case studies are chosen for deeper analysis, the focus on factors affecting decisions to commercialize technologies will become sharper.
Project Director: Julie Gorte 228-6354.
Estimated publication date: Summer 1995.
Requested by: Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
House Committee on Science, Space and Technology
Health care services delivery and research are information intensive. Health professionals collect, create, and use large amounts of information while caring for patients; the clerical tasks involved in maintaining records are time consuming and divert time and energy from patient care. Sometimes previously collected information is not available when and where it is needed; the difficulties of communicating information can delay appropriate care or lead to expensive duplication of tests. Health care providers and others, like suppliers and payers, manage large amounts of information for administrative purposes, and the costs of processing this information adds to the cost of health care. In addition, providers, payers, medical researchers, and government policy makers need accurate information about the outcomes of various procedures and interventions in order to judge their effectiveness; this information is becoming especially important in managed care environments. Consumers, as well, could benefit from information on medical outcomes and on relative costs of care in order to make informed choices about their selection of providers and health plans.
More use of information technology (computers, telecommunication) could address some of these information needs. Information technology might improve patient care by freeing health professionals from the burden of clerical tasks and by allowing both clinical and administrative information to be communicated more quickly and accurately. Automation of administrative tasks might help health care providers and payers to monitor and control costs more. Data on the effectiveness of medical interventions could be collected and analyzed more easily using computer-based records with standard formats or data elements, and appropriate information could be available to providers, payers, researchers, government agencies, and consumers.
While information technology may reduce some costs or make some services more accessible, benefits might accrue only after large investments in new technologies have been made. Further, there are barriers to implementing computer-based applications that may prevent their widespread use or may reduce the level of expected benefits.
This study is a cooperative effort between OTAs Health Program and its Telecommunication and Computing Technologies Program. It seeks to identify use of computer and telecommunication technology that might have a substantial payoff in monitoring or controlling costs or in improving the quality and accessibility of health care. The study will then assess selected applications in detail. The study builds on two current OTA assessments: one on the privacy of computerized medical records and the other on use of information technology in delivery of government services.
Project Director: Karen Bandy 228-6767.
Estimated publication date: Summer 1995.
Requested by: Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources
The development of a National Information Infrastructure (NII) to serve the Nations expanding communications and information needs is a high priority for both Congress and the Administration. Wireless technologies and systemssuch as TV and radio broadcasting, new personal communications services, and many kinds of satellite communicationswill form an integral part of the NII, but the roles they will play and the implications of their widespread adoption are not yet clear. In particular, integrating the many wireless and wireline systems that will comprise the NII will prove a difficult challenge for Federal, State, and local regulators. Many factors, including standards development, interconnection and pricing arrangements, and differing industry regulation, must be addressed before radio-based technologies and systems can become an effective part of the NII.
The objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the problems and promises of integrating wireless technologies into the NII. This study would: identify and discuss the various wireless technologies that could contribute to the development of the NII; assess the barriers to greater or more efficient use of radio-based systems; and explore the economic, regulatory, and social implications of the convergence of wireline and wireless technologies in the NII. The study will also present policy options addressing relevant wireless/NII issues.
Project Directors: David Wye 228-6945
Todd LaPorte 228-6776
Estimated publication date: Spring 1995.
Requested by: House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and its Subcommittee on Science
Native American communities including American Indian reservations, Native Hawaiians, and Alaska Native villages are working hard to surmount a variety of social and economic challenges. These communities typically are geographically remote and must cope with levels of unemployment and social distress that are higher than the national averages. Pilot projects suggest that telecommunication and computing technologies can play a role in revitalizing Native American communities, as such technologies are already doing in other distressed areas of the United States.
Prior OTA studies have found, however, that the potential use of telecommunications to significantly improve socioeconomic conditions is far from assured. Prerequisites for success include access to an affordable technology infrastructure, encouragement from local leaders and facilitators, involvement of the community infrastructure (e.g., schools and self-help groups), and appropriate training. As the United States accelerates the development and operation of a national information infrastructure (NII) or information superhighway,there is considerable risk that Native Americans will be bypassed.
OTA will consider: 1) current knowledge of the needs of Native Americans and opportunities for application of telecommunications and computing technologies; 2) results of pilot projects and prior research on factors that might contribute to the successful use of these technologies by Native Americans; 3) current public and private sector technology-based activities directed toward improving the socioeconomic conditions of Native Americans, with special attention to economic development and job creation; and 4) current and prospective public policy initiatives on the national information infrastructure, telecommunications and information policies, and electronic service delivery that could affect Native Americans.
OTA will include, as part of the study process, direct involvement of Native Americans and tribal and village organizations through interviews, advisory panel meetings, workshops, outreach meetings, and, to the extent practical, site visits. Another form of information gathering that will be used in this study is computer networking. Project staff have created a Mosaic/Netscape home page that is a compilation of many electronically accessible Native American Resources. The Native American Resource Page can be accessed here or with a direct link through the World Wide Web at this address: www.ota.gov/nativea.html.
Project Director: Fred Wood 228-6790.
Estimated publication date: Spring 1995.
Requested by: Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
Technology has changed the production and delivery of many services. This is most evident in information-intensive sectors such as banking, but also, for instance, in travel and tourism (airline reservation systems, high-technology attractions such as Epcot Center). Broadening the perspective to include "soft" technologies, such as total quality management and work reorganization makes it plain that new technical systems are pervasive in the service economy.
Services now account for three-quarters of U.S. employment and output. Some service jobs are good ones, with wage/benefit levels comparable or superior to manufacturing. But many service jobs offer low pay, few benefits, and limited prospect for advancement. As a whole, lagging productivity in the services appears to put downward pressure on U.S. GDP per capita and wage levels.
Performance improvements through technology might make it possible raise wages and benefits, moving at least some service jobs from the "low-wage, low-skill, dead end" category to the "high-wage, high-skill, good job" category. On the other hand, because labor-intensive services have been major engines of job creation, rapid productivity increases could cut into job opportunities, perhaps contributing to "jobless growth"economic expansion alongside high or even rising levels of unemployment.
OTA's approaches to these issues will include: (1) case studies of selected service firms and industries; (2) analysis of linkages among technology and other measures of firm performance; (3) analysis of labor markets by sector and occupation; (4) consideration of policy concerning, for example, training and work organization, labor law, business modernization, and job creation.
Project Director: Steve Herzenberg 228-6350.
Estimated publication date: Summer 1995.
Requested by: House Committee on Education and Labor
Electronic funds transfer has become the preferred medium for money laundering, because it is swifter and more easily concealed than bulk transport of currency across national boundaries. Wire transfer of funds creates voluminous records, especially at a few major money centerbanks and some Federal Reserve Banks. Attempts to detect characteristic patterns from these data bases that might indicate systematic money laundering are promising, but are frustrated by the vastness of the data and by laws and policies designed to protect financial privacy. Existing and emerging information technologies (including computer profiling, computer matching, and natural language processing) may solve the technical problem of pattern recognition. A number of regulatory and enforcement agencies are considering developing such systems, but development and prototyping these systems are hampered by legal restraints, budgetary constraints, and possibly lack of interagency cooperation. Even if these efforts are successful the systems may not be sufficiently flexible or interoperable, or may threaten privacy rights.
Project Director: Vary Coates 228-6772.
Estimated publication date: Summer 1995.
Requested by: Senate Committee on Government Affairs, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
Recent advances in information and communication technologies, occurring in a newly deregulated and increasingly competitive economic climate, are rapidly reconfiguring national communication systems and linking them together into networks spanning the globe. Encouraging the flow of, and the demand for, information products and services across national borders, these networks are wearing away the lines that historically have divided domestic and international communication systems and markets. Thus, communication is today one of the fastest growing sectors in the international market and international conglomerates are increasingly being formed to provide products and services on a global basis.
As communication networks became more global, so too will policy issues relating to their deployment, regulation, and use. Many governments, for example, have already been forced to harmonize their communication regulatory policies in order to forestall pricing arbitrage across national boundaries. Similarly, policy makers, communication vendors, and large business users are all being forced to pay much greater heed to international standards and the international standards development process.
Globalization may also lead to greater difficulty in achieving multiple policy objectives. With the breakdown of geographic boundaries, for example, U.S. regulatory policies designed to encourage competition in the domestic communication marketplace may serve to give foreign communication vendors and information service providers an unfair trade advantage. Alternatively, U.S. policies designed to promote trade in communication and information products and services may come into conflict with communication-based foreign policy strategies to promote economic development.
This report will examine U.S. international telecommunications technology and policy in terms of its ability to reconcile multiple national and international policy objectives. Special attention will be given to the areas of domestic regulatory policy, trade policy, and economic development policy. In analyzing these issues, the study will build on the previous OTA assessment, U.S. Telecommunication Services in European Markets.
Project Director: Linda Garcia 228-6774.
Estimated publication date: Spring 1995.
Requested by: House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Many U.S. manufacturers anticipate that their environmental compliance costs will increase in the coming years. In many instances, more cost effective technologies or techniques for environmental problems exist or could be developed, if obstacles to their use could be addressed. This project examines (1) the role of research and development (R&D) in overcoming barriers to private sector adoption and use of more cost effective technologies to address industrial pollution and waste; and (2) existing Federal and other programs for technical assistance and environmental compliance assistance to industry and municipalities. The project will:
Project Director: Wendell Fletcher 228-6352.
Estimated publication date: Spring 1996.
Requested by: Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology