The internet and development : are attempts to bridge the digital divide assisting developing countries?

This paper explores the commonly held view that the Internet, and information and communication technologies (ICTs) in general, have the potential to greatly assist development in developing countries so as not to be left behind in globalisation. This view is the ICTs will act as a panacea to enable developing countries to "leapfrog" their way into the global economy while simultaneously leading to the empowerment and reduction of poverty for much of the world's population. This optimistic view has since been challenged by a more pessimistic view that ICTs may actually exacerbate inequalities which already exist. An emerging view is that a real measure of the worth o fICTs in terms of development is to assess the real or effective access to ICTs in developing countries rather than just considering physical access. This view also acknowledges that the digital divide is part of a broader development divide. Hence issues other than those focussing on technology alone need to be more fully addressed. This paper considers the various reports and initiatives of international bodies and acknowledges that to date most of the initiatives have not been successful. The paper goes on to consider the emerging empirical evidence regarding the effect of ICTs on developing countries.