Information and Communication Technologies for Development and Poverty Reduction : The Potential of Telecommunications

by Torero Cullen, Maximo; Von Braun, Joachim

• ISBN13: 9780801880414
• ISBN10: 0801880416
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-02-24
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins Univ Pr

Summary

The IT revolution made some glorious promises to the world's poor: instant access to information and far-flung markets, political empowerment, greater growth, even the possibility that countries could leapfrog entire stages of development. But when none of that happened in a hurry, the hoopla gave way to concern that rather than closing the wealth gap, IT was exacerbating it. Yet for all the international debate and millions of words written about the digital divide, very little systematic empirical research or studies over time have been done to confirm claims and counterclaims and to guide policymakers on how this technology actually affects the development of low-income countries. In this volume, Maximo Torero and Joachim von Braun seek to address this omission with a collection of case studies exploring the relationship between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and development in Bangladesh, China, India, Ghana, Laos, Peru, and East Africa. Their conclusion is that yes, ICTs do have potential to serve and empower the poor by linking them to commercial and social networks, cutting transaction costs, and making the delivery of public goods like education and healthcare more efficient. But these benefits can accrue only when the supporting infrastructure is in place and when ICT policies take into account not only questions of connectivity but also of capability (how to help poor people use the new tools) and of content (what is relevant and in what form). All three c's are critical. Without coherent strategies and the right regulatory policies there is the very real likelihood that scarce resources will be misallocated and that ICT-induced growth will remain elusive. Contributors: Abdul Bayes, Arjun Bedi, Romeo Bertolini, Shyamal K. Chowdhury, Virgilio Galdo, K. Lal, Francis A.S.T. Matambalya, Maja Micevska, Dietrich Mueller-Falcke, Gi-Soon Song, Maximo Torero, Joachim von Braun, Wensheng Wang, and Susanna Wolfe, Gi-Soon Song, Maximo Torero, Joachim von Braun, Wensheng Wang, Susanna Wolf.

Author Biography

Maximo Torero is a research fellow at IFPRI. Joachim von Braun is the director general of IFPRI.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	xi
List of Tables	xv
Foreword	xix
Acknowledgments	xxi
Abbreviations	xxiii
Introduction and Overview	1	(20)
Joachim Von Braun
Maximo Torero
Telecommunications Infrastructure and Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Analysis	21	(43)
Maximo Torero
Shyamal K. Chowdhury
Arjun S. Bedi
Institutional and Public Policy Aspects of ICT Infrastructure Provision	64	(102)
Maximo Torero
Joachim Von Braun
Case Studies
Telecommunications Privatization: The Case of Peru	90	(10)
Maximo Torero
Public-Private Partnership Initiated by Aid: The Case of Laos	100	(10)
Gi-Soon Song
Leadership from Nongovernmental Organizations: The Case of Bangladesh	110	(12)
Shyamal K. Chowdhury
Abdul Bayes
Competition Without Privatization: The Case of China	122	(10)
Wensheng Wang
Institutional Trends and Infrastructural Developments in Telecommunications in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Ghana	132	(34)
Romeo Bertolini
The Economic Effects of ICT at Firm-Levels	166	(68)
Gi-Soon Song
Dietrich Mueller-Falcke
Case Studies
The Impact of ICT on Small Enterprises: The Case of Small-Scale Industry in India	174	(10)
Dietrich Mueller-Falcke
Does the Use of ICT Improve the Productivity of SMEs in East Africa? The Case of Kenya and Tanzania	184	(13)
Francis A. S. T. Matambalya
Susanna Wolf
The Impact of Telecommunications on Rural Enterprises: The Case of Rural Laos	197	(10)
Arjun S. Bedi
Gi-Soon Song
ICT and Export Performance: The Case of Garment Manufacturing Enterprises in India	207	(27)
Kaushalesh Lal
Impacts of ICT on Low-Income Rural Households	234	(78)
Maximo Torero
Joachim Von Braun
Case Studies
The Impact of Public Telephones in Rural Areas: The Case of Peru	240	(11)
Virgilio Galdo
Maximo Torero
The Benefits of Rural Telecommunications: The Case of Laos	251	(16)
Gi-Soon Song
Arjun S. Bedi
Implications of Access to Public Telephones: The Case of Rural Bangladesh	267	(10)
Shyamal K. Chowdhury
Farmers, Incomes, and the Use of Telephones: The Case of Rural China	277	(6)
Wensheng Wang
The Effects of Public Telephone Services: The Case of Rural Ghana	283	(29)
Romeo Bertolini
ICT for Pro-Poor Provision of Public Goods and Services: A Focus on Health	312	(25)
Maja Micevska
Conclusions and Implications for Policy and Research	337	(8)
Maximo Torero
Joachim Von Braun
Glossary of ICT Terminology	345	(2)
Contributors	347	(4)
Index	351