Bridging the Global Digital Divide

Bol Partner

According to many observers, the global digital divide – the extent to which information technology is benefiting developed as opposed to developing countries – has already established itself as the single most pervasive theme of the twenty-first century. According to many observers, the global digital divide - the extent to which information technology is benefiting developed as opposed to developing countries - has already established itself as the single most pervasive theme of the twenty-first century. The purpose of this book is to explore some of the ways in which this divide can be overcome both within and between nations. Employing a rigorous analytical framework, the author bases his analysis on the concept of international technological dualism. He argues that one possible solution to the problem is the availability of affordable technologies, such as low-cost computers, which are specifically designed for the income levels and socio-economic conditions of developing countries. He also emphasises that the most important aim of any policy measure should be to provide universal access to information technologies, rather than individual ownership. Depending on whether or not this divide can be bridged will, to a large degree, determine whether developing countries are able to attain higher levels of productivity, prosperity and global integration. Development economists, international policymakers and NGOs will all welcome the book's emphasis on various low cost technologies and their application in communal settings in the developing world. The non-technical nature of this volume will also make it accessible to a broader audience who wish to understand ways of alleviating this critical problem which has the potential to become even more acute as new and ever more complex technologies emerge.

Bol

The Internet has been described as having the potential to ameliorate social and economic disparities among countries and to lead to greater democratization throughout the contemporary world. However, despite references to it as the "World Wide Web," a vast technological gap is apparent between developed and developing countries in accessing and using the Internet. In fact, bridging this "digital divide" has become a central objective of several national and international policy initiatives. These initiatives have typically stressed greater democratic liberties, enhanced economic conditions, privatized telecommunications bodies, advanced telecommunications infrastructures, and investment in human capital as the requisite conditions that must be present to facilitate Internet diffusion, and have featured them in generalized prescriptions for developing countries. Findings, however, suggest that Internet diffusion efforts in countries at different levels of development would be better served by approaches that explicitly take into account prevailing social, political, and economic differences.