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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/2451/28509
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| Title: | Network Economics and the Digital Divide in Rural India |
| Authors: | P.D. Kaushik, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Contemporary Studies
Jake Kendall, UC Santa Cruz
Nirvikar Singh, UC Santa Cruz
Kristen Williams, UC Santa Cruz
Yan Zhou, California State University, Sacramento |
| Keywords: | Development, IT, ITC, India, Digital Divide, Internet |
| Issue Date: | 2007 |
| Series/Report no.: | NET Institute Working Paper;07-29 |
| Abstract: | The idea of a 'global digital divide' is well accepted, and
cross-country studies of determinants of differences in computer and
Internet penetration have identified income, telecommunications
infrastructure, and regulatory quality as key influencing factors. The
policy implications from these studies are relatively blunt: get richer,
have more telephones, and regulate telecommunications better. In this
paper, we examine an alternative policy approach to bridging the digital
divide, through organizational innovations that provide low cost
Internet access in developing countries, within the existing levels of
income, telecommunications infrastructure and regulatory environment. We
use survey data from 500 individuals in four states of India: Haryana,
Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan, to examine factors influencing
patterns of computer and Internet use. The situations in which data was
collected were ones where computer and Internet access was being
provided by a developmental agency (government or non-government). We
estimate logit and multinomial logit models, using explanatory variables
such as income, household size, education, and occupation, as well as
infrastructure factors such as quality of electricity supply, and
availability of telephones and televisions. Thus we are able to go
beyond simple analyses of penetration at the country level, to
understand the microeconomics of computer and Internet use in rural
India. In particular, by examining patterns of use, we are able to
comment on the importance of network externalities for diffusion of
computers and the Internet in these local rural contexts. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/2451/28509 |
| Appears in Collections: | NET Institute Working Papers Series
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