The objective of this project is to look at the potential role of the EU in supporting ICT capacity-building in low-income countries. Since 1984 the Maitland Commission report entitled The Missing Link stated that “no development programme of any country should be regarded as balanced, properly integrated, or likely to be effective unless it includes a full and appropriate role for telecommunications”.
European parliament report on ‘Innovation Union: transforming Europe for a post-crisis world’, 27 April 2011 at the following URL;
In the academic realm, the term digital divide which typically relates to the gap between those who have and do not have access to information and communication technologies (ICTs), has been an attractive subject on the scholarly and political agenda. The problem however is that the topic is highly fragmented in academic literature, and many of the research findings
are inconsistent and contradictory. In addition, too much of the research effort has gone into the ‗niceties‘ of measuring the divide and too little has been devoted to establishing a consistent analytical framework. In information systems and development terms, there have been few attempts to critically pinpoint the socio-economic impact of ICT innovation in developing nations and its relation with bridging the digital divide. The goal of this literature review accordingly, is to demonstrate how
theoretical perspectives regarding ICT innovation can strengthen digital divide research within the broader socio-economic context of developing nations. The paper simultaneously calls for more extensive empirical studies backed by theory and valid operational frameworks.
The Impact of Investment in IT on Economic Performance: Implications for Developing Countries
Summary
Full name of Article
The Impact of Investment in IT on Economic Performance: Implications for Developing Countries World Development Volume 33, Issue 5, May 2005, Pages 681-700
“We review quantitative and qualitative research on the impact of IT on economic performance in developed and developing countries. In general, studies from the developed world have yielded evidence of a strong positive correlation between IT and economic performance, as well as IT-induced changes in workforce composition in favor of highly skilled or educated workers and organizational changes that allow firms to implement IT more effectively. in the workforce. “
