ICTs and Economic Development

The introduction of ICTs in mainstream societies affects the way in which the societies interact, communicate, produce, assess, adapt and access vast amount of information at reduced costs. It create new opportunities for income generation by helping to make governance systems more transparent, efficient, and accessible. When used properly, ICTs can offer a tremendous potential to empower people in developing countries to overcome development obstacles; to address the most important social problems they face; and to strengthen communities, democratic institutions, a free press, and local economies. The book focuses on the role that ICTs potentially play in the economic development. It addresses many of the problems and possibilities of using these technologies for developmental objectives. The issues of information disparities to assess the potential role of ICTs in the context of current rural development paradigms and alternative approaches that are being pioneered to harness ICTs for development goals including private sector, public sector and NGO-based initiatives, are elaborately described. It is an essential reading for anyone interested in understanding current economic developments and the role of public policy and private sector strategies in dealing with the effects of the introduction of ICTs.