A Decision Model for Technology Assessment to Reduce the Digital Divide in Emerging Economies (Case: Costa Rica)

Audrey Maria Alvear Baez

ABSTRACT
Background: Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) such as Wireless, the Internet, and e-commerce software are profoundly impacting how business and government are conducted. Digital divide (DD) refers to the gap that opens up between those who have access to, benefit and interact with technology and those who can not. ICT can accelerate change and thereby increase the DD in developing countries, or, if deployed carefully, be a tool to reduce the internal DD within a country. This study presents a systematic approach for doing the latter by identifying the ICTs, technology applications and key sectors that most impact the internal digital divide in developing countries. The specific case study is Costa Rica.

Method: the methodology selected for conducting this study is the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), and the model is based on the United Nations Development Program UNDP report titled "Creating a Development Dynamic: Final Report of the Digital Opportunity", concepts from the literature and expert judgments. A four level hierarchical decision model has been developed using weights provided by an expert panel. The model computes the contribution to the reduction of the internal DD, due to the reduction of the DD in different key sectors, ICT applications, and ICTs. The model was developed for 2003 and for 2010. The judgmental values were tested for consistency and sensitivity, and verified by the expert panel.

Results: the study found that a reduction of the DD in the education sector would have the largest impact followed by the reduction of the DD in the economic, government and health sectors. Education and government applications have the largest impact on reducing the internal DD, due to their focus on innovation and creativity, enhancing the education process through ICT use as well as improving the efficiency of public administration. In 2003, the ICTs with the largest impact are: land-based devices, general- purpose software, the Internet content and infrastructure. The impact of collaborative tools increases dramatically from the year 2003 to the year 2010, suggesting that the role of technology in the year 2010 will be distinctively oriented toward Internet mobility and collaboration.

Contribution: in addition to developing a general modeling approach for prioritizing ICT investments, this research provides the Costa Rican government officials with a solid basis for making important policy decisions related to reducing the internal DD.

Friday, April 8, 2005
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE
Dundar Kocaoglu, Chairman
Tugrul Daim
Jean-Claude Balland
Wayne W. Wakeland
Walter Ellis, Graduate Studies Rep.