ABSTRACT
Despite being much spoken about, the impact of IT on the poor in developing countries is a poorly understood topic. What first needs to be improved is the conceptual basis of the relationship by realizing that the poor are a highly heterogeneous group whose components interact differently with mobile phones and the Internet. A second requirement is to improve data collection by following the mechanisms through which the poor really interact with the technology. Finally, studies of IT applications in developing countries need to specifically isolate the poor as a group to be studied. There are some, but not many, cases where IT clearly has a positive impact on the poor in developing countries. A useful starting point may be to isolate a group of the poor in a developing country and try to discern how the various heterogeneous groups among them interact with different types of IT. Then, for each individual, one can sum the individual respects in which he or she has gained from the technology.
