Public access to ICTs : sculpting the profile of users; working paper

Based on a survey of public access ICT users in five countries, the preliminary analysis indicates that while many public access ICT users are young (40% under 20 years old), male (65%), students (44%), with at least secondary education (82%), there is a fair amount of diversity in user characteristics. The significance of public access ICTs is demonstrated in the finding that most users’ first contact with computers and the internet was in a public access venue. The Global Impact Study of Public Access to Information and Communication Technologies was a five-year project (2007-2012)

The measurement of banking output and the treatment of interest in the system of national accounts

The satisfactory measurement of banking output has eluded statistical agencies since the inception of national income accounting. At the heart of the problem is the treatment of interest. Net interest payments are considered part of the output originating in the paying industries. When applied to the banking sector this practice results in unrealistically low or even negative output and an imputation is carried out to rectify the problem. This thesis identifies the problems surrounding the existing concepts and practices, discusses alternatives that have been proposed and develops a new approach to measuring banking output. The rate of interest is decomposed into a transfer and a service part and economic prices for banking services are constructed. Thus, nominal and real banking output are obtained in a straightforward manner. Empirical work points to the viability of the new approach

Emerging knowledge opportunities : monitoring infostates for development ; final technical report

Orbicom’s Digital Divide Index provides a rigorous statistical tool capable of benchmarking the unequal access to the use of ICTs internationally, and monitors the progress made by different countries over time, as well as the relative performance across important components of policy interest, such as network deployment, development of skills and use of ICTs. The index was last published by Orbicom in 2005, coinciding with the Second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). The empirical application and analysis were complemented with several in-depth analytical chapters on topics such as the macro-economic impacts of ICTs, regional perspectives from Africa, Asia and Latin America, as well as women in the information society. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) adopted the Orbicom framework and, with some changes, updated the index in February 2007 as the ICT Opportunity Index. The 3rd Global Knowledge Conference (Kuala Lumpur, December 2007) offered a strategic opportunity to make use of the new and updated index by the ITU, and use it as the macro backdrop for more detailed national quantitative market analyses in developing regions, as well as further expand the work on Women and the information society. The project was aligned with the themes of the Global Knowledge Conference, “Emerging Markets, Emerging Technologies, Emerging People”..

Connecting people for development: Why public access ICTs matter

Libraries, telecenters, and cybercafés play a critical role in extending the benefits of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to a diverse range of people worldwide. However, their ability to contribute to development agendas has come into question in recent times. The Global Impact Study was designed to address this debate by generating evidence about the scale, character, and impacts of public access ICTs in eight countries: Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, Chile, Ghana, Lithuania, the Philippines, and South Africa. This report summarizes the study’s key findings, situating public access in the context of national development, discussing some disputed issues, and providing recommendations for policymakers, public access practitioners and researchers. The results show that a central impact of public access is the promotion of digital inclusion through technology access, information access, and development of ICT skills. Both users and non-users report positive impacts in various social and economic areas of their lives.The Global Impact Study was implemented by the University of Washington's Technology & Social Change Group with support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and a grant to IDRC from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Learn more at globalimpactstudy.org

Connecting people for development: Why public access ICTs matter: Executive Summary

Libraries, telecenters, and cybercafés play a critical role in extending the benefits of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to a diverse range of people worldwide. However, their ability to contribute to development agendas has come into question in recent times. The Global Impact Study was designed to address this debate by generating evidence about the scale, character, and impacts of public access ICTs in eight countries: Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, Chile, Ghana, Lithuania, the Philippines, and South Africa. This report summarizes the study’s key findings, situating public access in the context of national development, discussing some disputed issues, and providing recommendations for policymakers, public access practitioners and researchers. The results show that a central impact of public access is the promotion of digital inclusion through technology access, information access, and development of ICT skills. Both users and non-users report positive impacts in various social and economic areas of their lives.The Global Impact Study was implemented by the University of Washington's Technology & Social Change Group with support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and a grant to IDRC from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

There when you need it : the multiple dimensions of public access ICT uses and impacts

This article presents findings from a multinational study into the impacts of public access ICTs. It identifies types of social and economic impacts, areas of impact, and the populations that experience these impacts. Even though mobile phones are now broadly available throughout the developing world, results indicate that venues such as cyber cafes and public libraries constitute the only computer and Internet access option for many. They are also where a majority of users had their first contact with computers or the Internet. The proportion of public venue users was even higher among lower socioeconomic groups and female populations