scholarly journals From Origins to Implications: Key Aspects in the Debate over the Digital Divide

2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 284-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey James
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Poor Countries ◽  
Global Digital Divide ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
Rich Countries ◽  
The Impact

Defined as the differential extent to which rich countries and poor countries benefit from various forms of information technology (IT), the global digital divide has been extensively measured and described in national as well as international debates. The problem, however, is that the topic is highly fragmented in the literature, with few attempts to put the parts into a coherent analytical framework. More precisely, there has been no specific attempt to pinpoint the main issues that influence one's view of the importance of the digital divide and the policies demanded by the different points of view. The goal of this paper, accordingly, is to fill this important gap in the literature in an analytical schema that recognizes the ways in which the impact of innovations depends heavily on how they are generated and diffused. At each stage of this sequential process are key issues that influence one's view of the digital divide. It matters a great deal for instance on whether the divide is in some sense unique, or just another manifestation of the general technological relationship between rich and poor countries. It is also the case that the size of the divide depends heavily on how it is measured. Yet another example is that the extent of the potential impact of IT will influence our view of the foregone opportunities associated with limited uptake of this technology in developing countries.

Sources of Increasing Inequality

2021 ◽  
pp. 172-190
Author(s):  
Francis Teal
Keyword(s):  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Labour Markets ◽  
Living Standards ◽  
The Political ◽  
Poor Countries ◽  
Unskilled Labour ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Rich Countries ◽  
The Impact

While all the evidence we have points to the rising living standards for most of the very poorest, the wages of unskilled labour in poor countries remain a fraction of those in rich countries. Those potential workers are seen as a threat to the living standards of the unskilled in rich countries and the political impetus to limit their access to those labour markets has been, and remains, one of the most potent issue in the politics of rich countries. This aversion to immigration as a threat to the wages of the unskilled often transmutes into a hostility to trade, as goods, which use a lot of unskilled labour, can be imported more cheaply. Both immigration and trade are seen as a threat to the unskilled. Two dimensions of this threat are examined in this chapter—the impact of Chinese exports on wages in the US and the impact of immigration on the UK economy.

Does Aid Spur Economic Growth?

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
Musa Talba JIBIR ◽  
Salamatu Idris ISAH ◽  
Bello A. IBRAHIM
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
Social Program ◽  
Economic Management ◽  
Poor Countries ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Rich Countries ◽  
The Impact

<p>Development Assistance is based on the idea that Rich Countries can and should help Poor countries to find the path to sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction—especially those that lack sources of capital. The paper began by reviewing the various sources and composition of net capital flows to developing countries and examined the respective roles of private and public flows in social program it further discussed the arguments and evidence on both sides of the question of whether aid is effective in promoting economic growth. The evidence of a direct effect on growth is inconclusive. Does this mean that aid should be cut back? Not necessarily. The impact of Aid should be evaluated not only in relation to its direct effects, but also in terms of its role in improving governance and economic management, and its contribution to social amenities such as basic education, health care facilities and access, water and infant mortality.</p>

Reconstruing the Digital Divide from the Perspective of a Large, Poor, Developing Country

2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 172-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey James
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Developing Country ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Internet Connectivity ◽  
Large Sample ◽  
Poor Countries ◽  
Global Digital Divide

The global digital divide is usually measured in terms of differences between rich and poor countries in the extent to which they use ICTs in general and the Internet in particular. Such a view of the problem, however, ignores the fact that there are all kinds of ways in which poor, illiterate persons in developing countries benefit from the Internet without any use of computers and Internet connectivity. Most of these benefits occur as a result of intermediaries who, in one way or another, transfer relevant parts of the knowledge available from the technology to recipients in a form that is relevant to their specific needs. Using India as an illustration of this argument, we find that usage understates actual beneficiaries by at least 30 percent. On the basis of this finding, we suggest that a reconstrued notion of the digital divide be based on usage as well as other more indirect forms of benefit from the Internet in developing countries. To this end, much more needs to be known about these other forms of benefit in a large sample of countries in addition to India.

scholarly journals Energy consumption, CO² emissions and economic growth in MENA countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-150
Author(s):  
Ali Maalej ◽  
Alexandre Cabagnols
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Co2 Reduction ◽  
Poor Countries ◽  
Mena Countries ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
Growth Energy ◽  
Rich Countries ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

This study investigates the relationship between economic growth, final consumption, investment, energy use and CO² emissions in two groups of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries: Oil Poor Countries (OPC) and Oil Rich Countries (ORC). It is assumed and verified that the structural relationship between GDP growth, energy use and CO² emissions is different in these two groups of countries. FGLS panel estimations were carried out over the period 1974–2014. In ORC, no significant relationships are observed between energy use and GDP, whereas CO² emissions and GDP are positively linked. In OPC, there are opposite connections: a positive link between GDP and energy use, whereas the impact of CO² emissions on GDP tends to be negative. In both groups of countries, a positive and bi-directional link is observed between energy use and CO² emissions. The strength of this link is twice bigger in OPC than in ORC. This indicates that CO2 reduction policies conducted through energy use control (quantitative and qualitative) will have higher effect in OPC than in ORC. This also shows that the relationships between economic growth, energy use and CO² emissions differ noticeably and structurally between OPC and ORC. These results provide new insights into the opportunities and threats faced by CO2 reduction policies in OPCs and ORCs.

Explaining the Global Digital Divide

2013 ◽  
pp. 39-62
Author(s):  
Girish J. Gulati ◽  
David J. Yates ◽  
Anas Tawileh
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Political Development ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Multivariate Regression Analysis ◽  
Financial Investment ◽  
Policy Initiatives ◽  
Global Digital Divide ◽  
The Impact

The rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has created an environment for citizens to have greater access to their government and to make citizen-to-government contact more inclusive. Previous research does not provide a comprehensive explanation for variation in recent e-government initiatives and, in particular, the impact of national public policy initiatives that seek to expand access to ICTs. This chapter examines the global digital divide by analyzing the impact of national policies on the ITU’s Digital Opportunity Index and the UN’s Web Measure Index in 171 countries. A multivariate regression analysis shows that when controlling for economic, social and political development, there is greater capacity for e-governance in countries that have a regulatory authority for telecommunications, competition in telecommunication industries, and higher financial investment in technological development. The analysis also shows that none of the examined policy initiatives appear to affect the reach of ICTs within countries.

Explaining the Global Digital Divide

2010 ◽  
pp. 292-314
Author(s):  
Girish J. Gulati ◽  
David J. Yates ◽  
Anas Tawileh
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Political Development ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Multivariate Regression Analysis ◽  
Financial Investment ◽  
Policy Initiatives ◽  
Global Digital Divide ◽  
The Impact

The rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has created an environment for citizens to have greater access to their government and to make citizen-to-government contact more inclusive. Previous research does not provide a comprehensive explanation for variation in recent e-government initiatives and, in particular, the impact of national public policy initiatives that seek to expand access to ICTs. This chapter examines the global digital divide by analyzing the impact of national policies on the ITU’s Digital Opportunity Index and the UN’s Web Measure Index in 171 countries. A multivariate regression analysis shows that when controlling for economic, social and political development, there is greater capacity for e-governance in countries that have a regulatory authority for telecommunications, competition in telecommunication industries, and higher financial investment in technological development. The analysis also shows that none of the examined policy initiatives appear to affect the reach of ICTs within countries.

scholarly journals Taxation and economic growth: A regression analysis based on a new classification

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-229
Author(s):  
Lich Hoang ◽  
Cao Tan ◽  
Le My ◽  
Dung Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Generalized Method Of Moments ◽  
Poor Countries ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Partitioning Around Medoids ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Group 3 ◽  
Rich Countries ◽  
The Impact

This paper examines the impact of taxes on the economic growth based on classifying countries by GDP per capita and a tax burden. The Partitioning Around Medoids (PAM) technique is used because it is not too sensitive to outliers. Through this multicriteria classification technique, the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) is employed to analyze the data of the three groups consisting of 63 countries from 2003 to 2017. The results show that most taxes have a positive impact on economic growth in poor countries (Group 1). Interestingly, taxes on goods and services promote economic growth in rich countries (Group 3), rather than having a negative effect, as is concluded by some previous studies. Specially, while the property tax has a negative effect on economic growth in rich countries, its impact is significantly positive in poor countries.

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