Harleen Kaur Ewa Lechman Adam Marszk Editors Catalyzing Development through ICT Adoption The Developing World Experience Catalyzing Development through ICT Adoption Harleen Kaur • Ewa Lechman • Adam Marszk Editors Catalyzing Development through ICT Adoption The Developing World Experience Editors Harleen Kaur Ewa Lechman Department of Computer Science and Faculty of Management and Economics Engineering Gdańsk University of Technology School of Engineering Sciences Gdańsk, Poland and Technology Hamdard University New Delhi, India Adam Marszk Faculty of Management and Economics Gdańsk University of Technology Gdańsk, Poland ISBN 978-3-319-56522-4 ISBN 978-3-319-56523-1 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-56523-1 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017942941 © Springer International Publishing AG 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Foreword This is the second year since the adoption of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by world leaders in September 2015 at a historic United Nations Summit. Over the next 15 years, countries will mobilize total efforts to end all forms of pov- erty, fight inequalities, and tackle climate change. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have the potential to accelerate socio-economic development of all countries in support of the 2030 development agenda for sustainable development. Today, seven billion people (95% of the global population) live in an area that is covered by a mobile-cellular network. Mobile-broadband networks (3G or above) reach 84% of the global population. Over two-thirds of the population lives within an area covered by a mobile-broadband network. Information and communication technology services are increasingly becoming more affordable. For instance, mobile-broadband services have become more affordable than fixed-broadband ser- vices. By end of 2015, average mobile-broadband prices corresponded to 5.5% of gross national income per capita worldwide. Although in the developing world, more than half of all people are not yet using the Internet and there exists large dif- ferences in terms of broadband speeds and quality, the situation in terms of ICT adoption is improving. The progress being made has significant impact in the developing world in edu- cation, health, agriculture, commerce, and almost every facet of human life. Even in the world’s 48 least developed countries, there is a new wave of hope and adoption of the latest ICT services and applications that include the use of Big Data to miti- gate epidemics and road network planning. Financial inclusion is also on top of the agenda and is playing a key role for the development of these countries as it extends services at affordable cost to sections and low-income segments of society. I have no doubt that the stage is already set for catalyzing development through ICT adoption. Policy makers and telecommunication regulators are encouraged to, however, create an enabling environment in order to encourage the private sector to invest into the ICT sector and get more and more people to have easy access to ICT and to develop the necessary skills that will enable them to fully use these new tools. v vi Foreword Capacity building remains a key success factor as new technologies are constantly introduced into the market such as Big Data, Internet of Things, and Artificial Intelligence. These technologies have immense potential to accelerate economic growth that in turn could result in most countries achieving the targets of the 2030 sustainable agenda covering economic, social development, and environmental protection. Cosmas Zavazava Projects and Knowledge Management International Telecommunication Union (UN) (ITU) Geneva, Switzerland Preface The Context Recently, the world has witnessed unprecedented advancements in terms of speed and geographical coverage and diffusion of information and communica- tion technologies (ICTs). Broad empirical evidence shows that even the most economically backward countries are adopting ICTs to eradicate their techno- logical deprivation. ICTs are universally acknowledged as a powerful tool for development and are often promoted as pivotal to bringing about social and economic growth. The revolutionary feature of modern ICTs – mainly the Internet and mobile tele- phony – facilitates low cost and speedy interaction among network participants. The full potential of new technologies can be easily unleashed when they are deployed as an economic development accelerator in least developed countries. ICTs bring to developing markets new business models, innovations, capital- labor substitution, and improved goods and services. Because they can spread rapidly, with little cost and minimal skills required for usage, ICTs create a solid background for social and economic gains. They enable significant reduction in information asymmetries, which improves access to economic activities for a multitude of agents, fostering participation, inter alia, in labor market of disad- vantaged societal groups. The adoption of ICTs creates better conditions for education and skills improve- ment, allows overcoming barriers for disadvantaged groups, brings about empower- ment, and paves the way to tap the global market of goods and services. ICTs enhance shifts from traditional to modern forms of conducting business and provide the necessary impetus to usher in an industrial revolution. Regardless of all the abovementioned facts, information and communication technologies’ impact on economies’ performance is claimed to exhibit in the long- run perspective, and – in addition – their real impact is limited and hardly quantifi- able. Therefore, after almost two decades of rapid diffusion of ICT in the developing world, it becomes imperative to assess the real consequences of adoption of ICTs in vii viii Preface economically backward countries. Broad, real-world-based evidence would provide a better understanding of the precise nature of new technologies and their impact on a country’s economy and society. The recent years have witnessed the role of ICTs in influencing the socioeco- nomic context in many countries. Despite that, in many regions, a significant pro- portion of the population does not have access to clean water, sanitation, basic health services, infrastructure, and proper education. The mission of this book is to explain how ICTs provide novel opportunities for information interchange and tech- nology transfer and escalate socioeconomic development in the developing world. ICT can be pivotal to building a transparent and all-inclusive society. This being said, integration poses challenges that are not easy to overcome, and so strategic and holistic approaches are needed to realize the full potential of these advancements in technologies to reform governance and transform public agencies and services. The gap is especially wide because policy makers and government agencies view ICT as an add-on technical fix, while ICT specialists fail to speak the mainstream develop- ment language. Our thoughts are that policy makers and technology specialists must communicate across the divide and manage the transformations brought about by a new paradigm. What This Book Offers This highly valuable book offers the reader a critical look into aspects of ICTs in raising socioeconomic development in underdeveloped countries. It intends to illustrate “success stories” in developing countries in reducing poverty, improving productivity, and addressing climate change issues. It aims to bridge the gap between the disciplines of ICT and economic development, and hence, it argues for the need to merge socioeconomic development with the revolutionary advances in information and communication technologies in order to address development challenges facing poor countries and emerging economies, particularly those con- cerning basic facilities such as clean water, sanitation, and basic healthcare ser- vices. It also builds a case for integrating new technologies into development strategies and governance reforms. It offers a number of frameworks and tools to advance this integration agenda. When properly leveraged, the ICT tools can reduce the cost of public services, enhance access to quality services, and make governing agencies more transparent. This book comprises five parts. Part I General and Multiregional Studies: In this part, you will understand why and how ICTs may affect socioeconomic development in economically backward economies and the prerequisites that are required to bring about social and eco- nomic escalation. We focus on some of the challenges faced by emerging econo- mies in tackling corruption and the issues encountered in handling and processing Preface ix heterogeneous, complex, and unstructured data for better decisionmaking. We use case studies to demonstrate how ICT can be a powerful tool to fight corruption and handle big data for implementing better management policies. Part II Asia: We use Bangladesh as a case study to highlight the role of ICT in strengthening the public sector accounting and introducing more transparency and accountability in the system. You will also gain an insight into how ICT can play a vital role in addressing climate change with particular focus on agricultural adapta- tion and disaster risk reduction from a community perspective. Part III Africa and the Middle East: Case studies from Africa and the Middle East are used to evaluate infrastructure deployment in OECD and MENA countries. The section highlights how reconstructing the institutional framework that supports scientific knowledge management systems (SKMS) in developing countries can be a panacea for successful IR innovation. It also throws light on how developing coun- tries can enhance their ICT adoption for development by improving formal institu- tions and strengthening domestic determinants of ICT adoption. Part IV Latin America: In this part, we study the role of ICTs, especially the Internet, in three Latin American countries to understand how people can attain the lifestyle they value and how inequalities in this ability or “information richness” can be explained by sociodemographic characteristics that do not depend on the indi- vidual’s decisions. Evidence from Chile illustrates how ICT can improve communi- cation access and participation in social programs and reinforce preexisting inequalities. We use country-specific information from Chile to show how e- commerce is emerging as a channel to penetrate new markets and opening up new avenues for productivity in the manufacturing and service sector. Part V Europe: In this part we assess the economic potential of big data industries in Europe and the challenges they face. We use data from Slovenia and Slovakia to understand the common patterns of digital development in developing countries and find that while the levels of efficiency of these industries are high, they are missing some key economic links with other sectors of the economy. We then shift focus to Estonia, which is home to many new ICT startups to understand how ordinary citi- zens are benefitting from this revolution. We expect that the book content draws on the insights and contributions of many colleagues and academics in developing countries. Its intended audiences are policy makers and ICT strategists. We also hope that it provides the necessary impetus for a more active communication among government agencies concerned with socio- economic development and ICT strategies to build more inclusive societies in the developing world. We are fully aware that the book tackles only a small sample of issues which are associated with problems of ICT adoption in the developing world and exploiting its full potential. However, we do hope it is an inspiring worldwide study, paving the road ahead for further research. And last but not the least, we would like to acknowledge the role of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. of India, India, and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the x Preface Government of Poland (MNISW) in making this book possible. This work is cata- lyzed and supported partially by the Indo-Polish joint research grant funded by the DST and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (Poland). New Delhi, India Harleen Kaur Gdańsk, Poland Ewa Lechman Gdańsk, Poland Adam Marszk