Can the digital divide be contained?

Rapid technological change typically occurs in an uneven fashion. Certainly, there is no doubt about the unprecedented speed of progress in the use of the new information and communication technologies (ICTs) 3⁄4 but patterns of diffusion are less clear and change fast. Given the pervasive impact of ICTs on society, there is grave concern about whether the rapid and uneven spread of ICTs will further widen the “digital divide” that has already emerged between industrialized and developing countries. For, since the conditions enabling the spread of ICTs vary 3⁄4 or are simply unmet 3⁄4 in many parts of the developing world, differing speeds of diffusion will inevitably mean a widening digital divide. Then, if ICT use proves to be associated with economic gains, that widening digital divide can only reinforce and deepen the existing socio-economic divide between industrialized and developing countries. Concern over the uneven diffusion of ICTs is therefore well placed and is at the heart of this article. This article is based on several findings of the ILO’s World Employment Report 2001: Life at work in the information economy. It begins by summarizing the extent of the digital divide between industrialized and developing countries. There follows an analysis of the economic effects of ICT use, for example, as a result of the commercial applications of the Internet, or the productivity gains of the application of ICTs to business processes. The policy fundamentals underlying the successful entry into the information economy of certain developing countries are then discussed. Finally, an outline is provided of initiatives at international level to put ICTs at the service of development.