Download or read book ICT Pathways to Poverty Reduction written by Edith Ofwona Adera and published by IDRC. This book was released on 2014 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'ICT Pathways to Poverty Reduction' presents a conceptual framework to analyse how poverty dynamics change over time and to shed light on whether ICT access benefits the poor as well as the not-so-poor. Essential reading for policymakers, researchers, and academics in international development or ICT for development.

Download or read book Information Communication Technology and Poverty Alleviation written by Jack J. Barry and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-09-30 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite global economic disparities, recent years have seen rapid technological changes in developing countries, as it is now common to see people across all levels of society with smartphones in their hands and computers in their homes. However, does access to Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) actually improve the day-to-day lives of low-income citizens? This book argues that access to the internet can help alleviate poverty, improve development outcomes, and is now vital for realizing many human rights. This book posits that good governance is essential to the realization of inclusive pro-poor development goals, and puts forward policy recommendations that aim to mitigate the complex digital divide by employing governance as the primary actor. In making his argument, the author provides a quantitative analysis of developing countries, conjoined with a targeted in-depth study of Mexico. This mixed method approach provides an intriguing case for how improvements in the quality of governance impacts both ICT penetration, and poverty alleviation. Overall, the book challenges the neoliberal deterministic perspective that the open market will "solve" technology diffusion, and argues instead that good governance is the lynchpin that creates conducive conditions for ICTs to make an impact on poverty alleviation. In fact, the digital divide should not be considered binary, rather it is a multifaceted problem where income, education, and language all need to be considered to address it effectively. This book will be useful for researchers/students of development, communication technologies, and comparative politics as well as for development practitioners and policy makers with an interest in how modern technology is impacting the poor in the developing world.

Download or read book Information Lives of the Poor written by Laurent Elder and published by IDRC. This book was released on 2013 with total page 107 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Information and communication have always opened opportunities for the poor to earn income, reduce isolation, and respond resiliently to emergencies. With mobile phone use exploding across the developing world, even marginalized communities are now benefiting from modern communication tools. This book explores the impacts of this unprecedented technological change. It looks at how the poor use information and communication technologies (ICTs). How they benefit from mobile devices, computers, and the Internet, and what insights can research provide to promote affordable access to ICTs, so that communities across the developing world can take advantage of the opportunities they offer.

Download or read book Information Communication Technology and Poverty Alleviation written by Jack J. Barry and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-07-24 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite global economic disparities, recent years have seen rapid technological changes in developing countries, as it is now common to see people across all levels of society with smartphones in their hands and computers in their homes. However, does access to Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) actually improve the day-to-day lives of low-income citizens? This book argues that access to the internet can help alleviate poverty, improve development outcomes, and is now vital for realizing many human rights. This book posits that good governance is essential to the realization of inclusive pro-poor development goals, and puts forward policy recommendations that aim to mitigate the complex digital divide by employing governance as the primary actor. In making his argument, the author provides a quantitative analysis of developing countries, conjoined with a targeted in-depth study of Mexico. This mixed method approach provides an intriguing case for how improvements in the quality of governance impacts both ICT penetration, and poverty alleviation. Overall, the book challenges the neoliberal deterministic perspective that the open market will "solve" technology diffusion, and argues instead that good governance is the lynchpin that creates conducive conditions for ICTs to make an impact on poverty alleviation. In fact, the digital divide should not be considered binary, rather it is a multifaceted problem where income, education, and language all need to be considered to address it effectively. This book will be useful for researchers/students of development, communication technologies, and comparative politics as well as for development practitioners and policy makers with an interest in how modern technology is impacting the poor in the developing world.

Download or read book Digital Poverty written by Hernan Galperin and published by IDRC. This book was released on 2007 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the problem of inedequate access to information and communication technology (ICT) and the need to develop appropriate pro-poor ICT policies. Shows how market reforms have failed to ensure that the benefits of the Information Society have spread across the region.

Download or read book Information and Communication Technologies Poverty and Development written by Richard Heeks and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 21 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can information and communication technologies (ICTs) help to alleviate poverty in low-income countries? The paper investigates this question, focusing particularly on the role of ICTs in assisting the development of small and micro-enterprises. The investigation is based on a systemic understanding of both technology and enterprise. This suggests that ICTs will play a role mainly as a communication technology rather than as an information processing or production technology. Serious inequalities exist that constrain the use of ICT-based information by poor entrepreneurs. Information and communication technologies may therefore have a greater role to play in giving 'voice' to the poor; that is, in making the poor information providers more than information recipients. However, effective application must first overcome the 'ICT fetish' that dominates much development thinking at present, and which creates a series of identified opportunity costs. The paper concludes with a set of development priorities for information and for ICT use in poverty alleviation.

Download or read book Information and communication technologies for development and poverty reduction written by Maximo Torero and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2006-01-01 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The IT revolution made some glorious promises to the world's poor: instant access to information and far-flung markets, political empowerment, greater growth, even the possibility that countries could leapfrog entire stages of development. But when none of that happened in a hurry, the hoopla gave way to concern that rather than closing the wealth gap, IT was exacerbating it. Yet for all the international debate and millions of words written about the digital divide, very little systematic empirical research or studies over time have been done to confirm claims and counterclaims and to guide policymakers on how this technology actually affects the development of low-income countries. In this volume, Maximo Torero and Joachim von Braun seek to address this omission with a collection of case studies exploring the relationship between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and development in Bangladesh, China, India, Ghana, Laos, Peru, and East Africa. Their conclusion is that yes, ICTs do have potential to serve and empower the poor by linking them to commercial and social networks, cutting transaction costs, and making the delivery of public goods like education and healthcare more efficient. But these benefits can accrue only when the supporting infrastructure is in place and when ICT policies take into account not only questions of connectivity but also of capability (how to help poor people use the new tools) and of content (what is relevant and in what form). All three c's are critical. Without coherent strategies and the right regulatory policies there is the very real likelihood that scarce resources will be misallocated and that ICT-induced growth will remain elusive. Contributors: Abdul Bayes, Arjun Bedi, Romeo Bertolini, Shyamal K. Chowdhury, Virgilio Galdo, K. Lal, Francis A.S.T. Matambalya, Maja Micevska, Dietrich Mueller-Falcke, Gi-Soon Song, Maximo Torero, Joachim von Braun, Wensheng Wang, and Susanna Wolfe, Gi-Soon Song, Maximo Torero, Joachim von Braun, Wensheng Wang, Susanna Wolf.

Download or read book Information and Communication Technology for Development ICT4D written by Richard Heeks and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-11-08 with total page 490 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mobile phones are close to ubiquitous in developing countries; Internet and broadband access are becoming commonplace. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) thus represent the fastest, broadest and deepest technical change experienced in international development. They now affect every development sector – supporting the work of hundreds of millions of farmers and micro-entrepreneurs; creating millions of ICT-based jobs; assisting healthcare workers and teachers; facilitating political change; impacting climate change; but also linked with digital inequalities and harms – with the pace of change continuously accelerating. Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) provides the first dedicated textbook to examine and explain these emerging phenomena. It will help students, practitioners, researchers and other readers understand the place of ICTs within development; the ICT-enabled changes already underway; and the key issues and interventions that engage ICT4D practice and strategy. The book has a three-part structure. The first three chapters set out the foundations of ICT4D: the core relation between ICTs and development; the underlying components needed for ICT4D to work; and best practice in implementing ICT4D. Five chapters then analyse key development goals: economic growth, poverty eradication, social development, good governance and environmental sustainability. Each chapter assesses the goal-related impact associated with ICTs and key lessons from real-world cases. The final chapter looks ahead to emerging technologies and emerging models of ICT-enabled development. The book uses extensive in-text diagrams, tables and boxed examples with chapter-end discussion and assignment questions and further reading. Supported by online activities, video links, session outlines and slides, this textbook provides the basis for undergraduate, postgraduate and online learning modules on ICT4D.

Download or read book Reclaiming Information and Communication Technologies for Development written by Tim Unwin and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017-05-18 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The development of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has transformed the world over the last two decades. These technologies are often seen as being inherently 'good', with the ability to make the world better, and in particular to reduce poverty. However, their darker side is frequently ignored in such accounts. ICTs undoubtedly have the potential to reduce poverty, for example by enhancing education, health delivery, rural development and entrepreneurship across Africa, Asia and Latin America. However, all too often, projects designed to do so fail to go to scale, and are unsustainable when donor funding ceases. Indeed, ICTs have actually dramatically increased inequality across the world. The central purpose of this book is to account for why this is so, and it does so primarily by laying bare the interests that have underlain the dramatic expansion of ICTs in recent years. Unless these are fully understood, it will not be possible to reclaim the use of these technologies to empower the world's poorest and most marginalised.

Download or read book Information and Communication Technologies for the Poor written by Máximo Torero Cullen and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 6 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The variety of views about ICTs reveals that their role in development is unclear, especially without convincing evidence of their impact--and little research has been conducted on the direct and indirect links between ICTs and poverty reduction. A new book, Information and Communication Technologies for Development and Poverty Reduction: The Potential of Telecommunications, published by the Johns Hopkins University Press for IFPRI, addresses several pressing questions surrounding ICTs. How do ICTs affect economic development in low-income countries? How do they affect poor people in these countries and in rural areas in particular? What policies and programs facilitate their potential to enhance development and the inclusion of poor constituents? The book presents researchers' findings related to five critical questions. (1) What link exists between ICT growth and economic growth? (2) Do weak institutions block effective use of ICTs? (3) Have ICTs been adapted to low-income countries, and have they had an impact on SMEs? (4) Does household access to ICTs remain constrained? (5) Can ICTs play a role in providing pro-poor public goods and services?"--Text.

Download or read book Information and Communication Technologies ICTs for Poverty Reduction written by Richard Gerster and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Information Lives of the Poor written by Laurent Elder and published by . This book was released on with total page 107 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Information and communication have always opened opportunities for the poor to earn income, reduce isolation, and respond resiliently to emergencies. With mobile phone use exploding across the developing world, even marginalized communities are now benefiting from modern communication tools. This book explores the impacts of this unprecedented technological change. Drawing on unique household surveys undertaken by research networks active in 38 developing countries, it helps to fill knowledge gaps about how the poor use information and communication technologies (ICTs). How have they benefited.

Download or read book ICT4D Information and Communication Technology for Development written by P. T. H. Unwin and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2009-02-09 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: communities." --Book Jacket.

Download or read book Information and Communication Technologies for Women s Socioeconomic Empowerment written by Samia Melhem and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2009-10-02 with total page 99 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper reviews how women in the developing world access and use information and communication technology (ICT). It examines the discourse and controversies surrounding the digital gender divide, including links to poverty and illiteracy. Major themes concerning women and ICTs are explored, such as women in the ICT workforce, how girls and women relate differently to ICT, and opportunities and barriers for women in science and technology in general. Current research relating to gender and ICT is often country-specific and is more prevalent in developed countries than in developing countries. This paper suggests where additional research is needed on barriers to women s entry and access to ICT. The overall objective of this paper is to influence policy dialogue around women and ICT for development by raising awareness of the digital gender divide. Economic opportunity for women in ICT will not be realized until policies address gender considerations and ensure that ICT investment contributes to more sustainable and equitable development.

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Information and Communication Technologies written by Robin Mansell and published by Oxford Handbooks Online. This book was released on 2007 with total page 644 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The production and consumption of Information and Communication Technologies (or ICTs) have become embedded within our societies. The influence and implications of this have an impact at a macro level, in the way our governments, economies, and businesses operate, and in our everyday lives. This handbook is about the many challenges presented by ICTs. It sets out an intellectual agenda that examines the implications of ICTs for individuals, organizations, democracy, and the economy. Explicity interdisciplinary, and combining empirical research with theoretical work, it is organised around four themes covering the knowledge economy; organizational dynamics, strategy, and design; governance and democracy; and culture, community and new media literacies. It provides a comprehensive resource for those working in the social sciences, and in the physical sciences and engineering fields, with leading contemporary research informed principally by the disciplines of anthropology, economics, philosophy, politics, and sociology.

Download or read book ICT in Agriculture Updated Edition written by World Bank and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2017-06-27 with total page 658 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Information and communication technology (ICT) has always mattered in agriculture. Ever since people have grown crops, raised livestock, and caught fish, they have sought information from one another. Today, ICT represents a tremendous opportunity for rural populations to improve productivity, to enhance food and nutrition security, to access markets, and to find employment opportunities in a revitalized sector. ICT has unleashed incredible potential to improve agriculture, and it has found a foothold even in poor smallholder farms. ICT in Agriculture, Updated Edition is the revised version of the popular ICT in Agriculture e-Sourcebook, first launched in 2011 and designed to support practitioners, decision makers, and development partners who work at the intersection of ICT and agriculture. Our hope is that this updated Sourcebook will be a practical guide to understanding current trends, implementing appropriate interventions, and evaluating the impact of ICT interventions in agricultural programs.

Download or read book Information and Communication Technologies written by and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2002-01-01 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Knowledge is a fundamental driver of increased productivity and global competition. Information and communication technologies provide a foundation for building up and applying knowledge in private and public sectors. Countries with information infrastructures that are well developed and that use innovative information technology applications, have advantages for sustained economic growth and social development. Developing countries face opportunity costs when delaying greater access to and use of information infrastructures and technologies. As these information and communication technologies are the centre of World Bank Strategic Directions Framework priorities, increasing the climate for investment and sustainable growth at the same time as empowering and investing in poor people. Implementing a strategy to support information and communication technologies development in client countries is high on the World Bank Group agenda.