ABSTRACT
I. Introduction............................................................................................................ 300 II. Data......................................................................................................................... 303 III. Computerization in 1993: hypotheses and findings ............................................. 303
A. Economically advanced nations are more likely to have adopted computers ....................................................................................................... 305
B. Nation-states with more educated populations and ones with more open access to information are more likely to have adopted computers ............. 306
C. Nation-states that have a higher saturation of information medias are more likely to adopt computers..................................................................... 308
IV. Internet use in 2001: hypotheses and findings ..................................................... 309 A. Economically advanced nations will make more extensive use of
internet technology......................................................................................... 309 B. Nations with more educated citizens and ones with more open
access to information are more likely to use internet technology ............... 310 C. Nation-states that have a higher saturation of information media
are more likely to use internet technology extensively ................................ 311 V. A note on causal order........................................................................................... 312
VI. Conclusions ............................................................................................................ 313 References........................................................................................................................ 315
This study addresses the issue of technological advance by reviewing the factors that led countries to computerize at high rates during the 1990s and asking which countries have been most likely to take advantage of the Internet as it gains wide popularity at the start of the 21st century. We find that the profusion of information infrastructure is a key mediating force determining the likelihood of a nation-state making use of computers in the early 1990s, and the Internet early in the 21st century. To fully participate and gain the economic, political, and social benefits of computers and the Internet, nations are advised to expose their citizens to earlier generations of mass information media and to provide them an extensive information infrastructure.
