Digital divide: determinants and policies with special reference to Asia
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TL;DR
By undertaking a set of cross-country regressions, the paper finds that income, education, and infrastructure play a critical role in shaping the divide.
Abstract
Access to the new information and communication technologies (ICT) remains extremely unequally distributed across and within societies. While there have been a good deal of popular discussions about this "digital divide", not much is known about the quantitative significance of its various determinants. By undertaking a set of cross-country regressions, the paper finds that income, education, and infrastructure play a critical role in shaping the divide. Based on this analysis, the paper also offers some policy suggestions as to how to promote a wider diffusion of ICT in poorer societies.