Do ICTs result in poverty reduction? This book looks at the links between ICTs and poverty reduction. The links are considered at three main levels: 1) access to ICTs and the relationship of such access to poverty; 2) impact of ICTs on poverty reduction; and 3) use of ICTs as potential pathways to poverty reduction. Impact is assessed both in terms of the causal relationship between enhanced access to ICTs and poverty reduction, and in terms of benefits perceived by the ICT users in the various studies. In all three cases, poverty is assessed within the sustainable livelihoods (SL) framework.
Most of the chapters in the book use data from two waves of household data collection(2007/08 and 2010) in the Poverty and Information and Communications Technology in Urban and Rural Eastern Africa (PICTURE) Africa study.
The analysis using data obtained from both quantitative and qualitative methodologies shows that: that there is a direct association/link between access to ICTs and poverty; ICTs have a direct impact on poverty reduction; access to and use of ICTs can have many benefits that have a positive impact on improving livelihoods and thus reducing poverty; and the benefits are mediated through a range of uses which provide insights into the mechanisms of how ICTs contribute towards poverty reduction.
Key findings: