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Download...
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a policy paper about national e-markets published by the UK’s Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR)
Click here (655Kb)
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Modern markets for all
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"A refreshing new angle on the world...[it] deserves our serious attention."
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Charles Handy, Britain’s leading management thinker,
writing in The Guardian.
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"Genuinely original ideas are rare. This is one of them: a way for entire populations to reap the rewards of new technology."
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Geoff Mulgan, Prime Minister’s Policy Unit, 10 Downing Street.
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"There is something here that government should be seriously investigating."
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Lord Haskins of Skidby, former chairman of Northern foods, government advisor on regeneration.
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Online auctions are booming. It's been labelled "March of the Micro-Sellers". But perhaps sites like eBay are just a first glimpse of individuals' enthusiasm to earn online? This site is about how the rest of that potential is released, it requires new government policy and is only now possible.
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This site is based on the work of UK technology journalist Wingham Rowan, the author of two books about "National Markets":
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"GEMs: backbone of a 21st Century Economy"
Publisher: Demos
UK
July 1997
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"It is inevitable a scheme like this will come to fruition at some point"
Prof. Tony Davies, British Telecom Professor of e-commerce innovation
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"Net Benefit: the ultimate potential of online trading"
Publisher: Macmillan / St. Martin’s Press / Kyung Yeun Corporation / Star Publishing
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Europe
February 1999
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USA
August 1999
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Korea
Spring 2002
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China
Winter 2002/3
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"A wonderful book. I applaud the recognition of these issues"
John Seely Brown, Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC)
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This policy is about the potential of online marketplaces open to any seller. eBay and its 105 million users shows the unstoppable desire of "ordinary people" to trade online. But auction sites are confined to very simple markets in a narrow corner of the economy: basically, car boot sales.
Beyond that niche, the other 99% of the economy is made up of markets that are far more complex, corporatized and liability ridden. Opening these sectors up to millions of micro-sellers requires (a) new forms of technology (b) a source of authority underpinning trading activity.
Take for example markets such as car mechanics, hire of garden equipment, services for tourists, local deliveries, domestic cleaning, home tuition or room rental. It's against the grain of current Internet thinking, but the best source of authority in such diverse sectors is government - national or local. As this site will show, even eBay with its $50bn market valuation and expansionist management team can't deliver the full potential of online markets alone.
This site is about National E-Markets (NEMs): neutral, very low-cost, user-protecting, marketplaces with facilities that can barely be imagined in low level sectors today. They would be designed built and run by private sector companies but directly underpinned by the highest authorities in the land.
Open to absolutely any seller on their own terms, NEMs would probably start small in sectors such as "slivers of time" working, bike hire or home helps for parents but, if successful, go on to serve a large swathe of the economy. Potentially, NEMs could become a genuine public utility alongside water supply, road networks, postage, electricity and the money supply. Like all of them, a mature NEMs system would operate within its own legal framework.
Follow the "Next" arrows and this site will take you through:
| why NEMs are needed |
| how they might work |
| how they could be initiated |
| their potential impact. |
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National E-Markets: key press coverage
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| UK
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USA
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Worldwide
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| The Guardian (3 articles including a 2 page feature)
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National Public Radio (hour long phone in)
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BBC World Service "Soundbytes" programme
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| The Independent (2 articles)
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New York Times
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The Financial Times
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| The Times
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Business Strategy mag.
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RTE (Ireland) TV News
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| The Observer
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The Industry Standard
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Pat Kenny Newshour (Ire.)
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| Sunday Business (2 articles)
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Upside Magazine
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Global E-commerce Review
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| Thinking Allowed: full programme (Radio 4)
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The Pat Choate Radio Show (nationally syndicated)
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News from the New Economy (Eur)
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| Shoptalk (Radio 4)
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Global Electronic Commerce Special Edition
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CommerceNet Strategies newsletter
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| Sunday Supplements (ITV)
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Net Worth Newsletter
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Sunday Business Post (Ire.)
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© Guaranteed Markets Ltd (UK) 2005. Some of the technology disclosed is
patent pending. "NEMs" and the chained faces logo are trademarks used with
permission. All rights reserved.
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History tells us...
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Governments have frequently helped new technology turn into national infrastructure.
Water supply, electricity, gas, railways, road networks, postage, the telephone and a coherent money system all moved into public ubiquity as a result of legislation from far sighted governments.
Here’s some examples:
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Penny Postage Act 1839 (UK)
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Federal Land Grants to Railways 1850’s (US)
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Graham Willis Act 1929 (US)
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