Regulation and Internet Use in Developing Countries

Regulation and Internet Use in Developing Countries

Policymakers are simultaneously concerned about the consequences of a worsening "digital divide" between rich and poor countries and hopeful that information and computing technologies could increase economic growth in developing countrie...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Wallsten, Scott
Format: Policy Research Working Paper
Language:English
en_US
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2014
Subjects:
ACCESS TO INFORMATION
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES
COMPETITION POLICY
COMPETITIVENESS
CONSUMERS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DIGITAL DIVIDE
ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ECONOMIC GROWTH
ECONOMIC RESEARCH
ECONOMIC SITUATION
EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS
EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
EMPLOYMENT
FOREIGN COMPETITION
GDP
ICT
INCOME
INCREASING RETURNS
INCREASING RETURNS TO SCALE
INDUSTRIAL ECONOMICS
INFORMATION ECONOMICS
INFORMATION ECONOMY
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
INNOVATIONS
INTERNET ACCESS
INTERNET HOSTS
INTERNET PRICING
INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS
INTERNET USE
ISP
LEASED LINES
MARKET POWER
MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES
NATURAL MONOPOLIES
PER CAPITA INCOME
PERSONAL COMPUTERS
PRIVATE GOODS
PRODUCTIVITY
PROGRAMS
REGULATORY AGENCIES
REGULATORY AGENCY
REGULATORY POLICY
RETURNS TO SCALE
SOFTWARE INDUSTRY
TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACCESS
TELECOMMUNICATIONS DEVELOPMENT
TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY
TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY
TELECOMMUNICATIONS REFORM
TELECOMMUNICATIONS REFORMS
TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATION
TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR
TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
TELEPHONE LINES
TELEPHONY
TRAINING CENTERS
TRANSITION ECONOMIES
UNIVERSAL SERVICE
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2003/03/2166845/regulation-internet-use-developing-countries
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19042
Description
Summary:Policymakers are simultaneously concerned about the consequences of a worsening "digital divide" between rich and poor countries and hopeful that information and computing technologies could increase economic growth in developing countries. But very little research has explored the reasons for the digital divide beyond noting that it is strongly correlated with standard development indicators, and no empirical research has explored the role of regulation. The author uses data from a unique new survey of telecommunications regulators and other sources to measure the effects of regulation in Internet development. He finds regulation strongly correlated with lower Internet penetration and higher Internet access charges. More specifically, controlling for factors such as income, development of the telecommunications infrastructure, ubiquity of personal computers, and time trends, countries that require formal regulatory approval for Internet service providers (ISPs) to begin operations have fewer Internet users and Internet hosts than countries that do not require such approval. Moreover, countries that regulate ISP final-user prices have higher Internet access prices than countries that do not have such regulations. These results suggest that developing countries' own regulatory policies can have large impacts on the digital divide.

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