Publication: Capturing Technology for Development : An Evaluation of World Bank Group Activities in Information and Communication Technologies, Volume 2. Appendixes
Date
2011
ISSN
Published
2011
Author(s)
Independent Evaluation Group
Abstract
Technological innovation drives economic
progress. Information and communication technologies (ICT)
can be leveraged for development, but harnessing this
potential depends on an enabling environment for their
production, diffusion, and use. Otherwise, technology can
widen rather than narrow existing inequalities. Over the
past decade developing countries have seen rapid but uneven
growth in ICT access and use. The unprecedented spread of
mobile technologies, driven by private sector investment and
supported by reforms to promote competition, enabled the
growth of phone services for the underserved and poor to
levels unseen before. But outside mobile telephony, large
gaps exist in high-speed Internet access and broadband
connectivity and in the diffusion and use of ICT in
business, services, and government the areas where ICT can
deliver the largest developmental impacts. The World Bank
Group's strategy has sought development results in ICT
by promoting (i) sector reform, (ii) access to information
infrastructure, (iii) ICT skills development, and (iv) ICT
applications. Among these areas, the Bank Group's most
notable contributions have been in sector reforms and
support to private investments for mobile telephony in
difficult environments and in the poorest countries, where
most of its activities have taken place. Countries with Bank
Group support for policy reform and investments have
increased competition and access faster than countries
without such support. Going forward, the World Bank Group
should retain a role in ICT, but with an important shift in
priorities. First, the importance of reforms suggests a role
for the Bank in this area related to (i) updating regulatory
frameworks and (ii) preserving competition in the face of
consolidation and convergence in the sector. Second, gaps in
broadband and internet access, in the context of overall
expansion of coverage, call for a selective role of the
International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral
Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) in supporting private
investments in difficult environments.
Citation
“Independent Evaluation Group. 2011. Capturing Technology for Development
: An Evaluation of World Bank Group Activities in
Information and Communication Technologies, Volume 2. Appendixes. © Washington, DC: World Bank. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/2371 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”