Bridging The Digital Divide: Financial and Ethical Challenges

The digital divide – the widening gapbetween people who can use computers and theInternet to advance themselves, and those who,because of poverty, education, or otherbarriers, cannot – offers some unique financialand ethical challenges. Fallows (2000), inThe Invisible Poor, reports on the stateof the U.S. economy as it affects the poor. Among other issues, Fallows argues thateconomic growth separates the classes, ratherthan bringing them together. Attali (2000)suggests a possible solution to this economicgap. Attali believes that ...the only concreteway to reduce the poverty gap is within thecontext of free market economy. It can be doneby combining the two success stories of thelast decade: entrepreneurship and technology,more specifically: microfinance and theInternet. This article addresses some issues related tohow technology, particularly in the area offinancial services, has affected the ability ofthe poor to better themselves. Ethicalchallenges that accompany Information Agepoverty are examined in the context of effortsto narrow the digital divide.     

More distance,more remittance? Remitting behavior,travel cost,and the size of the informal channel

The rising number of foreign workers in Italy during the last 15 years has led to a conspicuous increase in the amount of remittances sent abroad. In this paper, we examine the determinants of remittance outflows originated in Italy and transferred abroad through registered financial intermediaries. After controlling for a wide set of socioeconomic regressors, we document a strong positive relation between remittances and the cost of travel between Italy and the migrants' respective home countries. We interpret this result as indirect evidence of unrecorded flows, since the relation between remittances and travel cost should be non‐significant unless geographical proximity permits remitters to switch to informal (non‐observable) transmission mechanisms. Moreover, using data on temporal and monetary costs for a subset of bilateral corridors, we also find remittances to be negatively correlated with high transaction costs and low speed of transfer. We rely on this empirical evidence and on a model of migrants' remitting behavior to present new strategies for estimating the size of the informal outflow.     

Healthcare Ethics: A Patient-Centered Decision Model

A common financial model used in business decisions is the cost/benefit comparison. The costs of a proposed project are compared with the benefits, and if the benefits outweigh the costs, the project is accepted; if the costs exceed the benefits, the project is rejected. This model is applicable when tangible costs and benefits can be reasonably measured in monetary units. However, it is difficult to consider intangible factors in this model because intangible factors cannot be readily quantified in money. While some might argue that the financial model should not apply to healthcare decisions, the fact is that costs do enter into the picture. People may decide to forego needed healthcare because they cannot afford it. Healthcare providers may make choices based in part on the costs of diagnosis and treatment, rather than solely on medical information and what is best for the patient. Should financial issues enter into healthcare decisions – decisions about human health and well being? If so, how should the costs and benefits be measured and evaluated? What are some ethical issues and dilemmas involved in such decisions? This paper addresses ethical dilemmas and financial issues in healthcare. A healthcare decision model, which considers medical information, financial information, as well as ethical and other intangible factors, is proposed.     

A Framework for Teaching Business Ethics

What ethical framework should be used as a basis for teaching business ethics? Should business ethics be taught by ethicists in a separate course, by business faculty in business courses, or perhaps by both? These are some of the issues this paper will address. The paper begins with a review of the literature concerning approaches to teaching business ethics. Next, some ethical frameworks for teaching business ethics are considered. Finally, the paper proposes that students should apply their own personal values to business ethical issues in the classroom, thus providing future business leaders with a process for resolving ethical dilemmas.