ZEF Discussion Papers on Devlopment Policy 7
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1 Introduction
The development and spread of information and communication technology (ICT)
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is
often touted as the harbinger of a new industrial revolution. In a strategy piece, Talero and
Gaudette (1995) point out that the diffusion of information technologies
to all areas of human
activity is accelerating change in economies and societies. They go on to state that these changes
are creating a new economy – an information economy – in which information is the critical
resource and basis for competition. Similar statements by donor
agencies and international
organizations suggest that the propogation and accessibility of these new technologies should be
viewed as an integral element of a country’s development strategy (Morales-Gomez and
Melesse, 1998).
Notwithstanding these views, and the increasing diffusion of ICTs,
their role in
promoting economic growth and development is not viewed unambiguously. Views on the
usefulness of these technologies range from wild optimism about the opportunities they create to
deep pessimism about the possibilities developing countries’ have to
exploit these technologies
to their benefit (Avgerou, 1998).
The former view, stresses the importance of “knowledge or information gaps” as a
development constraint and asserts that the provision of these new technologies will help bridge
the North-South gap (Kenney, 1995; Moyo, 1996). Proponents
attribute a wide and almost
impossible array of positive effects to ICTs. For instance, it is argued that by bridging the
information gap, the spread
of ICTs will accelerate growth, increase agricultural and industrial
productivity, increase the efficiency of public administration and the effectiveness of economic
reforms, strengthen the competitiveness of developing countries and encourage greater public
