IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/unu/wpaper/dp2002-75.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Internet and Economic Growth in Least Developed Countries: A Case of Managing Expectations?

Author

Listed:
  • Charles J. Kenny

Abstract

A discussion of the theory of technology and economic growth suggests potentially negative implications for the impact of the Internet on developing countries. Technology in general is undoubtedly central to the growth process, but economists define technology in very broad terms. The impact of any particular, invented, technology is likely to be small. This theoretical perspective is supported by the empirical evidence regarding the limited impact of past 'information revolutions' on least developed countries (LDCs) and the present impact of the Internet on advanced economies.

Suggested Citation

  • Charles J. Kenny, 2002. "The Internet and Economic Growth in Least Developed Countries: A Case of Managing Expectations?," WIDER Working Paper Series DP2002-75, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:dp2002-75
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/dp2002-75.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David E. Altig & Peter Rupert, 1999. "Growth and the internet: surfing to prosperity?," Economic Commentary, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, issue Sep.
    2. Robert J. Gordon, 2000. "Does the "New Economy" Measure Up to the Great Inventions of the Past?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 14(4), pages 49-74, Fall.
    3. Paul Schreyer, 2000. "The Contribution of Information and Communication Technology to Output Growth: A Study of the G7 Countries," OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers 2000/2, OECD Publishing.
    4. Bloom, David E. & Canning, David & Fink, Gunther & Finlay, Jocelyn E., 2007. "Does age structure forecast economic growth?," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 569-585.
    5. Bill Lehr & Frank Lichtenberg, 1999. "Information technology and its impact on firm-level productivity: evidence from government and private data sources, 1977-1993," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 32(2), pages 335-362, April.
    6. Mark Doms & Timothy Dunne & Kenneth R. Troske, 1997. "Workers, Wages, and Technology," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(1), pages 253-290.
    7. David L. Hummels & Georg Schaur, 2013. "Time as a Trade Barrier," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(7), pages 2935-2959, December.
    8. Matti Pohjola, 1998. "Information Technology and Economic Development: An Introduction to the Research Issues," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-1998-153, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    9. Anthony Venables, 2001. "Geography and International Inequalities: The Impact of New Technologies," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 1(2), pages 135-159, June.
    10. Jesus Felipe, 1999. "Total factor productivity growth in East Asia: A critical survey," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(4), pages 1-41.
    11. Keely, Louise & Quah, Danny, 1998. "Technology in Growth," CEPR Discussion Papers 1901, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. Holtz-Eakin, Douglas, 1993. "State-specific estimates of state and local government capital," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 185-209, April.
    13. Bedi, Arjun S., 1999. "The Role of Information and Communication Technologies in Economic Development: A Partial Survey," Discussion Papers 279848, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    14. Holtz-Eakin, Douglas, 1994. "Public-Sector Capital and the Productivity Puzzle," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 76(1), pages 12-21, February.
    15. Garcia-Mila, Teresa & McGuire, Therese J., 1992. "The contribution of publicly provided inputs to states' economies," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 229-241, June.
    16. Jörg MAYER, 2000. "Globalization, Technology Tranfer And Skill Accumulation In Low-Income Countries," UNCTAD Discussion Papers 150, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    17. Guillén, Mauro F. & Suárez, Sandra L., 2001. "Developing the Internet: entrepreneurship and public policy in Ireland, Singapore, Argentina, and Spain," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 349-371, June.
    18. Jacques Mairesse & Nathalie Greenan & Agnes Topiol-Bensaid, 2001. "Information Technology and Research and Development Impacts on Productivity and Skills: Looking for Correlations on French Firm Level Data," NBER Working Papers 8075, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Romer, Paul M, 1990. "Are Nonconvexities Important for Understanding Growth?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(2), pages 97-103, May.
    20. Joanne E Oxley & Bernard Yeung, 2001. "E-Commerce Readiness: Institutional Environment and International Competitiveness," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 32(4), pages 705-723, December.
    21. Hilbert, Martin R., 2001. "Latin America on its path into the digital age: where are we?," Desarrollo Productivo 4484, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    22. Stiroh, Kevin J, 1998. "Computers, Productivity, and Input Substitution," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 36(2), pages 175-191, April.
    23. Madden, Gary & Savage, Scott J., 1998. "CEE telecommunications investment and economic growth," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 173-195, June.
    24. Charles Kenny, 1999. "Why aren't countries rich?: Weak states and bad neighbourhoods," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(5), pages 26-47.
    25. David H. Autor & Lawrence F. Katz & Alan B. Krueger, 1997. "Computing Inequality: Have Computers Changed the Labor Market?," Working Papers 756, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    26. Swati R. Ghosh & Aart Kraay, 2000. "Measuring Growth in Total Factor Productivity," World Bank Publications - Reports 11423, The World Bank Group.
    27. David H. Autor & Lawrence F. Katz & Alan B. Krueger, 1998. "Computing Inequality: Have Computers Changed the Labor Market?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 113(4), pages 1169-1213.
    28. Hummels, David, 2001. "Time As A Trade Barrier," Working papers 28701, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    29. Lal, K., 1996. "Information technology, international orientation and performance: A case study of electrical and electronic goods manufacturing firms in India," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 269-280, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wallsten, Scott, 2003. "Regulation and internet use in developing countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2979, The World Bank.
    2. Abdur Chowdhury, 2003. "Information technology and productivity payoff in the banking industry: evidence from the emerging markets," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(6), pages 693-708.
    3. Ying Liu & Lin Li & Fei Teng Zheng, 2019. "Regional Synergy and Economic Growth: Evidence from Total Effect and Regional Effect in China," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 42(5-6), pages 431-458, September.

    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. Charles Kenny, 2003. "The Internet and Economic Growth in Less-developed Countries: A Case of Managing Expectations? 1," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(1), pages 99-113.
    2. World Bank, 2004. "Chile : New Economy Study, Volume 2. Background Documents," World Bank Publications - Reports 14711, The World Bank Group.
    3. Atzeni, Gianfranco E. & Carboni, Oliviero A., 2006. "ICT productivity and firm propensity to innovative investment: Evidence from Italian microdata," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 139-156, June.
    4. Sami SAAFI & Fouzi SBOUI, 2011. "LES OPPORTUNITES DES INVESTISSEMENTS DIRECTS ETRANGERS LES OPPORTUNITES DES INVESTISSEMENTS DIRECTS ETRANGERS, DIFFUSION TECHNOLOGIQUE ET DEMANDE DE LA MAIN-D’OEUVRE PAR QUALIFICATION DES INDUSTRIES T," Working Papers 240, Laboratoire de Recherche sur l'Industrie et l'Innovation. ULCO / Research Unit on Industry and Innovation.
    5. Piva, Mariacristina & Santarelli, Enrico & Vivarelli, Marco, 2005. "The skill bias effect of technological and organisational change: Evidence and policy implications," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 141-157, March.
    6. Ketteni, Elena & Mamuneas, Theofanis & Stengos, Thanasis, 2011. "The Effect Of Information Technology And Human Capital On Economic Growth," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(5), pages 595-615, November.
    7. Gianfranco E. Atzeni & OA Carboni, 2006. "Regional Disparity in ICT Adoption: an Empirical Evaluation of The Effects of Subsidies in Italy," Working Paper CRENoS 200608, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia.
    8. Natália Barbosa & Ana Faria, 2008. "Technology adoption: does labour skill matter? Evidence from Portuguese firm-level data," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 35(2), pages 179-194, April.
    9. Robert W. Fairlie, 2006. "The Personal Computer and Entrepreneurship," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(2), pages 187-203, February.
    10. Bedi, Arjun S., 1999. "The Role of Information and Communication Technologies in Economic Development: A Partial Survey," Discussion Papers 279848, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    11. Agnieszka Gehringer & Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso & Felicitas Nowak-Lehmann Danzinger, 2016. "What are the drivers of total factor productivity in the European Union?," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(4), pages 406-434, June.
    12. Marianne P. Bitler, 2001. "Small business and computers: adoption and performance," Working Paper Series 2001-15, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
    13. Luis Garicano & Paul Heaton, 2010. "Information Technology, Organization, and Productivity in the Public Sector: Evidence from Police Departments," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 28(1), pages 167-201, January.
    14. Kasahara, Hiroyuki & Liang, Yawen & Rodrigue, Joel, 2016. "Does importing intermediates increase the demand for skilled workers? Plant-level evidence from Indonesia," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 242-261.
    15. Jacques Mairesse & Nathalie Greenan & Agnes Topiol-Bensaid, 2001. "Information Technology and Research and Development Impacts on Productivity and Skills: Looking for Correlations on French Firm Level Data," NBER Working Papers 8075, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Marco Vivarelli, 2013. "Technology, Employment and Skills: An Interpretative Framework," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 3(1), pages 66-89, June.
    17. Paolo Ghinetti, 2007. "Technology Innovations, Organisational Changes and Firms’ Wages in Italy," Working Papers 111, SEMEQ Department - Faculty of Economics - University of Eastern Piedmont.
    18. Mariacristina Piva & Marco Vivarelli, 2002. "The Skill Bias: Comparative evidence and an econometric test," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(3), pages 347-357.
    19. Marco Vivarelli & Mariacristina Piva, 2001. "The skill bias in Italy: a first report," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 15(2), pages 1-8.
    20. Zoran Boroviæ & Mladen Rebiæ & Dalibor Tomaš, 2020. "Total factor productivity drivers in the selected EU countries: Cointegration approach," Zbornik radova Ekonomskog fakulteta u Rijeci/Proceedings of Rijeka Faculty of Economics, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, vol. 38(1), pages 295-315.

    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:unu:wpaper:dp2002-75. 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: Siméon Rapin (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/widerfi.html .

    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.