A master thesis by Saemundur Karl Finnbogason reviews the notion of sustainability in light of how the Internet and technology are changing the landscape of international trade.
Read the main findings and conclusion of this research project.
The EU is in Free Trade Agreements emphasizing that international trade should contribute to the objective of sustainable development. It is, for example, stated in the EU-South Korea agreement and flagged as a priority in the on-going EU-US negotiations. However, the Internet is transforming international trade by inter alia opening it up to small business and remote markets. The question what impact that has or should have on the notion of sustainable development in trade triggered Finnbogason's research.
The concept of sustainability is traditionally defined as consisting of three interlinked pillars: economic growth, social development and environmental protection. Finnbogason finds that online commerce is proving capable of promoting the economic pillar of sustainability in a new way, namely by including and creating opportunities for small businesses. He concludes that this finding should go to redefining “sustainable development” in the context of international trade: (1) creating opportunities for small businesses should be viewed as an important element of the economic pillar and it should be explicitly acknowledged that the Internet and digital services, such as online marketplaces, are effective tools to that end; and (2) this should in turn influence how we think about the other two pillars. In light of this conclusion, Finnbogason puts forward four proposals for measures that would maximize total value.
The thesis research was based partly on an online survey and interviews with stakeholders from both the public and private sector; small business owners; online marketplace operators; trade organizations; and government. Hanne Melin of eBay Inc. Public Policy Lab provided input to the research process.
The thesis concludes Finnbogason's studies for the Master of Science in Environmental Management and Policy at the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (Lund University in Sweden).