Capturing Technology for Development: An Evaluation of World Bank Group Activities inInformation and Communication Technologies, Volume 1. The Evaluation

Independent Evaluation Group

Washington, DC:World Bank

关键词: ACCESS MANAGEMENT;    ACCESS TO INFORMATION;    ACCESS TO SERVICES;    ACCOUNTABILITY;    ACTION PLAN;   

RP-ID  :  65375

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Technological innovation drives economicprogress. Information and communication technologies (ICT)can be leveraged for development, but harnessing thispotential depends on an enabling environment for theirproduction, diffusion, and use. Otherwise, technology canwiden rather than narrow existing inequalities. Over thepast decade developing countries have seen rapid but unevengrowth in ICT access and use. The unprecedented spread ofmobile technologies, driven by private sector investment andsupported by reforms to promote competition, enabled thegrowth of phone services for the underserved and poor tolevels unseen before. But outside mobile telephony, largegaps exist in high-speed Internet access and broadbandconnectivity and in the diffusion and use of ICT inbusiness, services, and government the areas where ICT candeliver the largest developmental impacts. The World BankGroup's strategy has sought development results in ICTby promoting (i) sector reform, (ii) access to informationinfrastructure, (iii) ICT skills development, and (iv) ICTapplications. Among these areas, the Bank Group's mostnotable contributions have been in sector reforms andsupport to private investments for mobile telephony indifficult environments and in the poorest countries, wheremost of its activities have taken place. Countries with BankGroup support for policy reform and investments haveincreased competition and access faster than countrieswithout such support. Going forward, the World Bank Groupshould retain a role in ICT, but with an important shift inpriorities. First, the importance of reforms suggests a rolefor the Bank in this area related to (i) updating regulatoryframeworks and (ii) preserving competition in the face ofconsolidation and convergence in the sector. Second, gaps inbroadband and internet access, in the context of overallexpansion of coverage, call for a selective role of theInternational Finance Corporation (IFC) and the MultilateralInvestment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) in supporting privateinvestments in difficult environments.