ABSTRACT
Simply put, the global digital divide concerns the starkly differential extent to which various forms of IT (such as the Internet, computers and mobile phones) benefit rich rather than poor countries in terms of production as well as use (a distinction that is described below). By now, the topic has engendered intense interest among a very wide range of institutions at the global, international and country levels. Yet, in spite of the huge amount of literature, there has been no specific attempt to pinpoint the main issues that influence one’s view of the importance of the digital divide and the policies demanded by different points of view. The goal of this chapter is to fill this important gap in the literature by means of an analytical schema that recognizes the sequential aspect of the process in which the impact of innovations depends on how they are generated and then diffused across countries. This aspect of the process has already been raised in the previous chapter.
