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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/2451/27755
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| Title: | Assessing Network Applications for Economic Development |
| Authors: | Aral, Sinan
Escobari, Marcela
Nishina, Randal |
| Issue Date: | 10-Nov-2008 |
| Series/Report no.: | CeDER-PP-2001-03 |
| Abstract: | PAE Team’s Objectives Ø Create a survey instrument to
assess the impact of technology intervention in rural India Ø
Advise on potential applications for village-level Internet terminals
The aim of the Sustainable Access in Rural India (SARI) project is to
improve the lives of individuals in poor rural communities by leveraging
information and communications technologies to facilitate economic
development. Ultimately, the project’s success will be measured by
its social and economic impact and viability, which depends critically
on the appropriateness of applications provided to end-users. Our
conclusions and recommendations concerning applications are as follows:
A price application that posts the daily price fluctuations of certain
goods in order to promote competition among sellers and improve the
economic decision making of villagers and traders may not increase
efficiency or further economic development; its effectiveness depends
critically on geographic scope and a focus on goods whose prices exhibit
sufficient price volatility and differentiation. We recommend a central
web sitebased price application, with independent kiosk operators
responsible for inputting price information from villages in which
markets exist. A spot labor market application that aggregates supply
and demand of jobs for clusters of villages holds much
promise—there are potential benefits from coordinating labor
markets in the area studied. The relatively constant need for work
coupled with unmet demand suggests that there is a significant
willingness to pay for a service that matches supply and demand for
labor in a timely and accountable way. We recommend a bulletin-board
type labor market application that connects small numbers of nearby
villages. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY iv An agriculture application that
addresses the basic knowledge needs of farmers, providing weather
forecasts and information on farming techniques must include tailored
content, given the diversity of crops grown and methods employed
throughout the region. We recommend a local content creation mechanism,
facilitating farmer access to agricultural expertise via simple voice or
text communications, or a more robust web-based application.
Deficiencies in the current state-provided healthcare infrastructure may
limit the initial impact of IT within local Public Health Centers
(PHCs). Instead, we suggest a health care application that delivers
information and services to villagers directly through community
centers. Based on villager awareness levels and needs, we recommend a
government services application that would enable villagers to access
information on relevant government programs and initiate online requests
for necessary government documents. While applications to facilitate
education (particularly adult learning) may be useful, there appear to
be significant implementation barriers at the school level. The
motivation for these proposed applications stems from several regional
attributes, inferred from local economic data and extensive interviews
with villagers, school representatives, health workers and NGO staff
members: Ø Many if not most villages exhibit segregation along
religious and/or caste lines. Ø While some data is readily
available and disseminated (e.g., prices of heavily traded goods), other
potentially critical pieces of information are not easily accessible to
villagers (e.g., livestock prices, agricultural advice, government
programs). Ø A majority of all economic activity either directly
or indirectly involves agriculture, and much of a typical
villager’s social activity relates to agriculture. Ø A
majority of laborers are without a regular source of
employment—unemployment is extremely cyclical, reaching high
levels during the agricultural off-season. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/2451/27755 |
| Appears in Collections: | CeDER Published Papers
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