Published in:Development Informatics Working Paper ; no. 10a
Extent:
1 Online-Ressource (22 p)
Language:
English
DOI:
10.2139/ssrn.3477763
Identifier:
Origination:
Footnote:
Nach Informationen von SSRN wurde die ursprüngliche Fassung des Dokuments October 30, 2002 erstellt
Description:
"The potential of the modern information age seems overshadowed at every turn by the ancient forces that separate the rich from the poor." (Dertouzos 1999)If debate on ICTs and development has drawn from any discipline, it has tended to be sociology. This paper attempts to broaden the debate by drawing on economic evidence to ask: will ICTs support economic convergence or divergence between developing and industrialised countries?In an overall sense, technology is fundamental to development. However, ICTs – while having an uncertain impact on growth – are currently a force for global economic divergence rather than convergence. They diffuse more slowly in developing countries than industrialised countries, and they bring fewer benefits and greater costs to developing countries than industrialised countries.This does not present an argument against adoption of ICTs by developing countries. Rather, it presents an argument for focus on particular applications and investment priorities