The Link between ICT and Economic Growth in the Discourse of Development

It is pointed out that the policy analyses and recommendations of major development organizations influence the interventions of information systems professionals in developing countries with misguided perceptions and prescriptions that stifle the undertaking of situated efforts to put ICT to effective use.

Abstract

In this paper, I examine the validity of the relationship between ICT and economic development that has been constructed in the discourse of some influential international development organizations. I argue that the tool-and-effect association suggested in such discourse is dubious and misleading. It is based on narrow economic theory and ignores both the controversies that surround it and empirical evidence of alternative development policies. I point out that the policy analyses and recommendations of major development organizations influence the interventions of information systems professionals in developing countries with misguided perceptions and prescriptions that stifle the undertaking of situated efforts to put ICT to effective use.