Technology, Games and Gadgets

Posts Tagged ‘expanding access’

In addition to acquiring and expanding access to information and communication technologies (ICTs), countries should assess and strengthen their ability to use these tools, according to a new study by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Latin America and the Caribbean should improve the skills of its population, physical infrastructure and its institutions and its regulations, so that ICT can have a positive impact on development, the study concluded.

“With appropriate policies, governments can take full advantage of ICT tools to promote development. These technologies can improve the dissemination of information and help solve market failures, “said Alberto Chong, chief economist of the IDB and the study coordinator.”But it is important to note that, by itself, increased access to ICTs will not cause development. Countries should also focus on how to apply these tools. “

The book Connections development: the impact of new information technologies examines how ICTs have contributed to the success of 46 development projects in Latin America and the Caribbean in six areas: finance, health, institutions, education, poverty and environment. This study is the first in the region systematically applying rigorous statistical methods to measure how information and communication technologies had an impact on the results of the projects.

Based on randomized control trials and economic studies, researchers found that 39 percent of the reviewed projects benefited greatly from the adoption of new technologies, while others only partially or minimally benefited from the application of ICT.