Policy Reform, Economic Growth, and the Digital Divide: An Econometric Analysis

<p>Rapid growth of Internet use in high-income economies has raised the specter of a <br />&quot;digital divide&quot; that will marginalize developing countries, because they can neither <br />afford Internet access nor use it effectively when it is available. Dertouzos (1997) <br />anticipates a widening income gap if the global Internet develops under laissez-faire <br />conditions. The UN (1999) and Sachs (2000) concur, calling for substantial aid flows to <br />narrow the technology gap. While Negroponte (1998) counters that the &quot;leapfrog&quot; <br />character of the Internet will enable the poor to catch up quickly, he also advocates major <br />increases in aid for technology development.</p>