Connected for Development? Theory and evidence about the impact of Internet technologies on poverty alleviation

Abstract

Based on the assumption that increased access to internet services boosts economic growth and improves the well‐being of the poor, governments in both developed and emerging regions are heavily investing in internet connectivity projects. This article reviews the existing evidence as to the impact of internet technologies on various development dimensions, and articulates the empirical evidence into an analytical framework that seeks to identify the micro‐linkages between internet adoption and poverty alleviation. The review suggests that the development pay‐offs of internet technologies are ambiguous due to two interrelated effects. First, because effective appropriation requires a range of skills as well as complementary investment in human capital and organizational changes. This tends to favour well‐educated workers and firms with more innovative capacity and access to finance. Second, because the positive effects of internet dissemination on market co‐ordination and political institutions grow exponentially with adoption levels. As a result, while the evidence indicates that advanced economies are reaping significant benefits from internet investments, the returns for less advanced economies, and in particular for the fight against poverty in these regions, remain uncertain.

Digital Entrepreneurship Solution to Rural Poverty: Theory, Practice and Policy Implications

“…However, Galperin and Viecens (2017) found literature regarding theory and evidence on ICT and poverty alleviation suggests that "the development pay-offs of ICT are ambiguous." There are three reasons for this finding.…”

Universal Broadband: Option, Right or Obligation?

“…With more and more information and services moving online, access to broadband has become a necessity of modern life. For individuals, broadband has emerged as a vital gateway of access for news and information, political participation, education, government services and community engagement (Arivanandan, 2013; Baker, Hanson, & Myhill, 2009; Barak & Sadovsky, 2008; Ellis, 2011; Fuhr & Pociask, 2011; Galperin & Viecens, 2017). For communities as well, broadband improves productivity, small business start-ups and employment generation (Crandall, Lehr, & Litan, 2007; Czernich, Falck, Kretschmer, & Woessman, 2009; Kolko, 2010; Whitacre, Gallardo, & Strover, 2014).…”

“…It is also empowering for entrepreneurs and small businesses, to seek out information on loans, taxes and permits. But economic empowerment is not the only effect; researchers have also pointed out to the political empowerment resulting from engagement with online communities (Galperin & Viecens, 2017). Here too, the effects are stronger and pertinent to groups such as persons with disabilities, whose physical and cognitive differences and restricted mobility might hinder their full participation in society (Barak & Sadovsky, 2008).…”

The Highest Retail Price (HET) of Subsidized Fertilizer at the Farmer’s Level in South Sumatra Rice Farming, Indonesia

“…It was estimated that farmers are capable of producing about 40 million tons of rice and national food needs of about 39.54 million tons (Warr and Yusuf, 2014;, indicating that the domestic food needs can be met by domestic production without depending on the imported rice (Galperin and Viecens, 2017;Armanto et al, 2013). Prediction of 40 million tons of rice is highly dependent on the fertilizer function as a major production factor after the seed (Ellis and Maliro, 2013), so that fertilizers become a necessity that cannot be left out in the process of food production (Comtea et al, 2013;Adriani and Wildayana, 2015).…”