IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envira/v49y2017i10p2179-2182.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Digital inequality in provincial China

Author

Listed:
  • Haimeng Liu
  • Chuanglin Fang
  • Siao Sun

Abstract

The rapid spread of information and communications technologies is accelerating the development of our economy and society. While information and communications technologies have become an important development tool that reshapes many aspects of the world’s activities, digital inequality emerges on a worldwide scale due to difference in access to and use of information and communications technologies. Digital inequality, which is a new phenomenon in the current information era, will widen the gap between developed and developing countries/regions. China has witnessed rapid informationization along with its booming economic growth over the past decade. However, digital inequality, as an important aspect of social inequalities in China, has received only scant attention currently. Based on the technique of cartogram, Figures display provincial information and communications technologies development index (IDI) values in 2010 and 2015 in China, exhibiting high inequality. Regions of the highest information and communications technologies levels are distributed along China's eastern coast. On the contrary, the provinces in the west present very low information and communications technologies levels. The coefficient of variation of IDI values dropped from 0.30 to 0.18, indicating declining digital inequality in China. A causal bidirectional relation probably exists between the economic development and information and communications technologies levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Haimeng Liu & Chuanglin Fang & Siao Sun, 2017. "Digital inequality in provincial China," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 49(10), pages 2179-2182, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:49:y:2017:i:10:p:2179-2182
    DOI: 10.1177/0308518X17711946
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0308518X17711946
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0308518X17711946?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Loo, Becky P.Y. & Ngan, Y.L., 2012. "Developing mobile telecommunications to narrow digital divide in developing countries? Some lessons from China," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 888-900.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jun Wen & Hadi Hussain & Renai Jiang & Junaid Waheed, 2023. "Overcoming the Digital Divide With ICT Diffusion: Multivariate and Spatial Analysis at China’s Provincial Level," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440231, March.
    2. Surapree Maolikul & Thira Chavarnakul & Somchai Kiatgamolchai, 2019. "Market Opportunity Analysis in Thailand: Case of Individual Power Sources by Thermoelectric-Generator Technology for Portable Electronics," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 16(03), pages 1-24, May.
    3. Becky P. Y. Loo & Bo Wang, 2018. "Factors associated with home-based e-working and e-shopping in Nanjing, China," Transportation, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 365-384, March.
    4. Liu, Chun & Wang, Lian, 2021. "Who is left behind? Exploring the characteristics of China's broadband non-adopting families," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(9).
    5. Laetitia Chaix & Dominique Torre, 2015. "The Dual Role of Mobile Payment in Developing Countries," GREDEG Working Papers 2015-01, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    6. Hilbert, Martin, 2016. "The bad news is that the digital access divide is here to stay: Domestically installed bandwidths among 172 countries for 1986–2014," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 567-581.
    7. Kumar, Ronald Ravinesh & Stauvermann, Peter Josef & Samitas, Aristeidis, 2016. "The effects of ICT⁎ on output per worker: A study of the Chinese economy," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 102-115.
    8. Peili Yu & Junguo Shi & Bert M. Sadowski & Önder Nomaler, 2020. "Catching Up in the Face of Technological Discontinuity: Exploring the Role of Demand Structure and Technological Regimes in the Transition from 2G to 3G in China," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 815-841, July.
    9. Jayakar, Krishna & Liu, Chun, 2014. "Universal service in China and India: Legitimating the state?," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 186-199.
    10. Hellmann, Daniel & Chan, Jennifer & Tapia, Andrea & Maitland, Carleen F., 2015. "The potential of big data and telecommunications in the Ebola response," 2015 Regional ITS Conference, Los Angeles 2015 146338, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    11. Xia, Jun, 2017. "China’s telecommunications evolution, institutions, and policy issues on the eve of 5G: A two-decade retrospect and prospect," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(10), pages 931-947.
    12. Nishijima, Marislei & Ivanauskas, Terry Macedo & Sarti, Flavia Mori, 2017. "Evolution and determinants of digital divide in Brazil (2005–2013)," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 12-24.
    13. Chih-Cheng Chen, 2015. "Assessing the Activeness of Online Economic Activity of Taiwan’s Internet Users: An Application of the Super-Efficiency Data Envelopment Analysis Model," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 122(2), pages 433-451, June.
    14. Loo, Becky P.Y. & Wang, Bo, 2017. "Progress of e-development in China since 1998," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(9), pages 731-742.
    15. Zhang, Bin & Jin, Zhiye & Peng, Zhidao, 2018. "Bridging the Digital Divide: Making the Digital Economy Benefit to the Entire Society," 22nd ITS Biennial Conference, Seoul 2018. Beyond the boundaries: Challenges for business, policy and society 190412, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    16. Zhouying Song & Tao Song & Yu Yang & Zhenbo Wang, 2019. "Spatial–Temporal Characteristics and Determinants of Digital Divide in China: A Multivariate Spatial Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-21, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:49:y:2017:i:10:p:2179-2182. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.