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ICTs : information and communication technologies for the poor

TORERO, Maximo
VON BRAUN, Joachim
November 2005

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This 'issue brief' describes the proliferation of electronically communicated information, which has accelerated economic and social change across all areas of human activity worldwide. It observes that the rapid growth of ICTs in developing countries is partly a result of very low initial access, and therefore in absolute terms developing countries are still well behind the developed world in access to ICTs. It concludes that ICTs offer an opportunity for development, but not a panacea. For the potential benefits of ICTs to be realized in developing countries, many prerequisites need to be put in place: prompt deregulation, effective competition among service providers, free movement and adoption of technologies, targeted and competitive subsidies to reduce the access gap, and institutional arrangements to increase the use of ICTs in the provision of public goods. The paper advocates for the importance of all three "Cs": connectivity, capability to use the new tools, and relevant content provided in accessible and useful forms

Up-scaling pro-poor ICT policies and practices

GERSTER, Richard
ZIMMERMANN, Sonja
February 2005

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This paper is the result of a literature review and discussions during a two-day workshop. It examines how ICT can make a difference in reducing poverty and reaching the MDGs. This potential contrasts, however, with the relatively modest pro-poor ICT implementation level. It asks what key barriers impede the implementation of declarations, and how can we multiply, upscale and replicate successful pilot projects. This study idenfies four "basic requirements" for successful up-scaling of poverty reduction through ICTs: an enabling ICT policy environment; a high priority assigned to ICT for poverty reduction; appropriate technology choices; and mobilisation of additional public and private resources

Good practice paper on ICTs for economic growth and poverty reduction

BATCHELOR, Simon
SCOTT, Nigel
et al
2005

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This report aims to give an overview of what DAC members currently know about how information and communication technology (ICT) use in developing economies can stimulate economic growth and poverty reduction. It draws attention to the cross-cutting applications of ICTs, to their role as tools, not goals, and links their use to development co-operation

Information and communication technologies and broad-based development : a partial review of the evidence

GRACE, Jeremy
KENNY, Charles
QIANG, Christine
et al
February 2004

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This paper reviews some of the evidence for the link between telecommunications and the Internet and economic growth, the likely impact of the new ICTs on income inequality and anecdotal evidence regarding the role of the Internet in improving government services and governance. It looks at methods to maximise access to the new ICTs, and improve their development impact both in promoting income generation and in the provision of quality services. The authors also note that the implementation of ICTs must be part of a broader reform agenda

ICT, PRSPs, and MDGs

BANURI, Tariq
October 2003

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This paper considers the dissemination of ICT within various conceptual frameworks, calling for approaches that start with the needs and desires of poor people for information. It is strongly illustrated with examples from India and Pakistan. Banuri then turns to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and to the potential of ICT to support progress in meeting these goals. Finally, he criticises governments for lack of a coherent, human development-based ICT policy emphasizing the MDGs, while suggesting that civil society has done better

ICTs and poverty : a literature review

ADEYA, Catherine Nyaki
2002

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This literature review explores the concepts of ICTs and poverty, and their implications on development. It is divided into the following sections: Section 2 examines the concepts of poverty and ICTs, as well as some related issues, while the next section evaluates the relationship between ICTs and poverty in some detail; Section 4 then presents some case study literature on ICTs and poverty. This section is followed by an assessment of literature on ICTs and poverty reduction from the perspective of development in Section 5. The focus of Section 6 is ICTs and a selection of thematic areas that include agriculture, culture, education, health and gender. Section 7 has some concluding remarks and the last section gives recommendations for further research

Measuring the impact of information on development

MENOU, Michel J
1993

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This report documents an initiative that, through its methods and focus, aimed to provide a realistic starting point to understanding the impact of information on development. It consisted of a electronic conference, followed by a workshop through which ideas about information and evaluation were shared and built upon. The report weaves together the input of dozens of information users and providers, policymakers, information scientists, and others from the South and the North, and presents a preliminary assessment framework as a starting point to future work in this area

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