Information lives of the poor: Fighting poverty with technology

This book explores the impacts of technological change on the poor. Drawing on household surveys undertaken by research networks active in 38 developing countries, it helps to fill knowledge gaps about how the poor use information and communication technologies (ICTs): How have they benefited from mobile devices, computers, and the Internet? What insights can research provide to promote affordable access to ICTs, so that communities across the developing world can take advantage of the opportunities they offer?

The book synthesizes the findings from research conducted in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The researchers found the biggest obstacle to ICT to be cost, and yet this has not stopped the poor from purchasing phone time. They also found links between ICT access and reduced poverty among the very poor.

Key findings:

The poor use phones primarily for social calls, but potential emergencies consistently rank high on surveys as the main reason for buying a phone. For businesses, saving time and money on transportation has emerged as the greatest economic benefit of mobile phone ownership. The increasing number of people accessing the Internet has helped small and home-based businesses, while the mobile phone industry has generated many jobs that serve the sector. Meanwhile, “mobile money” has gained popularity, suiting the needs of the poor better than conventional banking.

Lessons for policy makers:

If governments want to create healthy competition, issuing new licences to telecommunications players is the most readily available intervention. New entrants bring lower prices and introduce new ways of doing business. The best way for governments to be involved in increasing ICT access is to focus on economic regulation, reforming markets to make them more competitive, and continuing to work on underlying democratic tenets that allow a fair and competitive environment to flourish. Governments can also set up policy processes that are public and participatory.

For many researchers trying to understand ICT use at the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid, obtaining data remains a challenge. Telecommunications operators have the best information on ICT use — more than governments, regulators, and researchers. However, they tend to keep information private, usually for commercial reasons. Their reluctance to release information on ICT use leads to large discrepancies in estimates of broadband coverage. Regulatory authorities need a stronger hand in demanding information that would provide a clearer picture and help researchers better understand the connection between ICT access and poverty alleviation.

Governments putting together ICT plans must think beyond just providing the technology. They have to encourage and enable people to build popular and useful content. And they should avoid altering cost structures that could imperil popular platforms, such as Facebook and YouTube — the vehicles that engage so many people and make them familiar with the Internet.

Summary