Opinion leaders in government and business routinely tout the Internet's power as a force for economic and social development, and programs designed to bridge the digital divide are springing up across the developing world. Many questions remain, however, about the effectiveness of such programs...

Broadcasting can have a significant part to play in the fight to reduce global poverty. At least 77 percent of the world's population is estimated to be within easy access of broadcast technology (compared to perhaps 4 percent for the Internet), broadcast services are easily accessible by the...

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are increasingly seen as integral to the development process. This paper reviews some of the evidence for the link between telecommunications and the Internet and economic growth, the likely impact of the new ICTs on income inequality and...

"The potential of the modern information age seems overshadowed at every turn by the ancient forces that separate the rich from the poor." (Dertouzos 1999)If debate on ICTs and development has drawn from any discipline, it has tended to be sociology. This paper attempts to broaden the debate by...

Intro -- CONTENTS -- Preface -- Acronyms and Abbreviations -- Executive Summary -- Introduction -- Broadcasting and Development -- Broadcasting and the New ICTs -- Convergence -- Broadcasting as a Productive Sector -- The Government's Role in the Broadcasting Sector -- The World Bank and...