Issues of the Digital Divide

1
Issues of the Digital Divide
2
Digital Divide Defined

• In 1970s NGOs warned of growing gap between
  haves and have-nots
• Universal Service and Universal Access in the
  telecommunications tradition

3
Digital Divide Defined

• . . .an inequality in access, distribution, and
  use of information and communication technologies
  between two or more populations. (p. 300)
• Can be within one nation-state or among many
  (Intranational vs. International)

4
The Global Divide Access

• Physical Access--Where are the ICTs?
• Financial Access--Who can afford them?
• Cognitive Access--What can they utilize?
• Design Access--How well can they interpret?
• Content Access--What is relevant?
• Production Access--What can they contribute?
• Institutional Access--What bodies help or hinder
  them?
• Political Access--Who participates in the
  decisions?

5
Global Divide Beyond Access

• Distinction between Formal and Informal Access
• Participation and Engagement more key to the
  issues
• Average citizens vs. Information champions
• The more active the information champions, the
  more evolved the knowledge society

6
Demographic Issues

• Access is correlated with
• Income
• Education
• Urban proximity
• Age
• Gender
• Ethnicity
• Occupation

7
The Costs of ICT Applications
Applications Software Hard Infrastructure Soft
Infrastructure Training Awareness Basic Education
8
Perspectives on the Divide

• Optimists, Pessimists, Structuralists
• The state of the current ICT gap
• Predictive Trends in ICT and economic trends
• Relationship between patterns of ICT inequality
  and economic inequality
• Impact of ICTs on economic growth
• Domestic Shifts brought on by ICT diffusion
• Causes of successful diffusion in LCDs

9
Widening the Divide--Findings

• Access Gaps Primarily
• Physical
• Financial
• Content
• Cognitive

10
Widening the Divide--Findings

• RD/Intellectual PropertyHaves control 97 of
  worlds patents
• GDP closely associated with ICT access
• Growth rates are as divergent as current
  comparative statistics
• 23 for the Haves
• 18 for the Have-nots

11
Widening the Divide-Findings

• Wilson concludes that ICTs are a major factor in
  widening income disparity over the past decade
• Yet he also asserts there is no link between
  level of ICT usage and level of economic growth.
  Why?

12
Widening the Divide

• Optimists might be correct on domestic
  diffusion, but internationally the findings show
  the gap widening
• Pessimists Findings seem to support their claims
• Structuralists Supported in that ICT trends
  follow general global trends

13
Widening the Divide Corrupt Elites
(Would you do business with this man?) Askar
Akayev, former President of Kyrgyzstan (Rule of
Law and Protection for civil liberties is
critical to ensure equal access. )
14
Laws of ICTs

• Moores Law
• Cost of technology platforms go down the longer
  they are on the market and as production stays
  constant
• Metcalfes Law
• Power of the network increases exponentially by
  the number of computers connected to it
• Wilsons Law
• The actual and opportunity costs of exclusion
  from an interactive community are
  multidimensional, increase over time, and are
  borne by both the excluded and society as a
  whole.

15
Costs of Exclusion

• Consumption/Investment opportunities
• Higher costs for goods and services
• Lack of access to knowledge as the ICTs become
  increasingly complex
• Less information re employment, investments,
  consumer goods
• Decline in social cohesion and connectedness
• Less active participation in government and
  society

16
Costs of Exclusion

• Exclusion costs will increase over time as some
  citizens join the network and others stay put.

17
How to Narrow the Divide?

• Encourage investment in human capital
• Low levels of government distortion and
  corruption
• Respect for the rule of law and property rights
• Sustain an enabling environment for democratic
  rights and civil liberties

18
Digital Divide Issues-Brazil

• Despite increasing ICT development within Brazil,
  poor Brazilians fall behind due to
• Lack of equipment
• Education and Training
• Illiteracy
• This was not a first world problem-we were not
  going to find a Swedish or Swiss company to solve
  it for us Moura Campos

19
What Divide? The Case of China

• Wilson attributes the lack of official
  recognition of divide issues to the following
• Rise of middle class in China put the poor in the
  shadows
• Increase in education/training communicate
  perception of access and equity
• Politically incorrect subject due to security
  concerns.

20
Strategic Restructuring
21
Restructuring the Global System
We know why they care
But why does she???
22
Why Does the Private Sector Care?

• Assessing short/medium term priorities and
  calculating material, ideological, and political
  interests lead to private companies wanting to
  open new markets and protect creative interests.

23
The Thatcher/Reagan Revolution

• Strategic restructuring of
• Property Rights
• Governance rules
• Efficiency rules
• Distributional norms

Comrades-in-Arms?
24
The Clinton Administration

• Political support from the private sector
• Al Gore champions challenge to public/monopolist
  telecommunications to expand access and partner
  with private sector
• Why would public leadership advocate giving up
  their own power?

25
Core Principles of Restructuring

• Opening national ICT/Telecom Markets to foreign
  investment
• Permitting Telecom to be a traded service
• Ensuring promarket regulatory structures

26
Influences of the Private Sector

• When in conflict, private sector companies choose
  to prioritize rule-making over distribution.
• New rules concerning IP, efficiency private
  sector leadership constrain any efforts to divide
  equitably.
• Above influence is exacerbated by the shift from
  state power to private control with ICTs.

27
Influences of the Private Sector

• Power shift
• Handling new policy issues
• Achieving common business positions
• Private-public methods of forming global policy
  networks
• Individual leaders shaping policy (Bill Gates)

28
Continuing Issues

• Internet Governance (ICANN)
• E-Commerce as a regulated industry
• Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)

29
Distributional Issues Addressed

• Private business organizations conclude
• Divide is a result of bad government policy
• Private sector best solves inequities
• Digital divides are really Digital opportunities
• Partnership are important, but Governments should
  play supporting roles to private interests
• Global Information Infrastructure Commission
  (GIIC)
• Global Business Dialogue (GBD(e))

30
Distributional Issues Addressed

• The Group of Eight Summits (G8)
• 2000 Meeting Japan selecting digital divide
• Prompts Clinton Administration to produce policy
  and include non-profit and NGO actors in process
• Representatives from Developing nations invited
  for the first time

31
Distributional Issues Addressed

• Group of Eight 2000 Summit Results
• Government set up task forces
• Mobilized high-level interest worldwide
• Included NGOs and previously excluded actors
• Brought legitimacy to advocacy concerns of
  developing countries, but also revealed lack of
  expertise.

32
Distributional Issues Addressed

• Private Firms
• Commercial Activities (export and marketing of
  goods and services)
• Philanthropic Activities (community
  development)
• Mixed Activities (training to build a
  populations cognitive base)

33
Distributional Issues Addressed

• Grassroots Activities
• Companies and NGOs driven by social concerns

Peoplink.Org
Greenstar
34
Distributional Issues-Microfinance
Fatima Sarwoni of Namunsi, Uganda The Village
Phone Lady Grameen Bank http//www.gfusa.org
35
Questions in Lieu of Conclusions

• Why Does the Private Sector Care?
• How Important is the Digital Divide?
• Is the Digital Divide Narrowing?
• What Does the Digital Divide Mean?
• Who Should Take Action?
• What are the Obstacles?