Theory to Inform Practice to Build Theory: Are Emerging Economies in a Cyclical Relationship with their Information and Communication Technologies?
ABSTRACT: Five years ago, the global economy was in the midst of a recession thought to be one of the deepest in recent history. The recession left high unemployment rates, shrinking middle classes and rising inequalities in many countries of the Western world accustomed to dominating the world economy. At the same time, The Economist reported that China, India and Indonesia were among the few economies in the world that continued to expand throughout the global downturn. Even though the smaller, more open Asian economies were badly hit, between September and March the real GDP fell by an average annualized rate of 13% in Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand, the countries' second-quarter GDP figures showed a bounce. Comparing the second quarter with the first at an annualized rate, China's GDP grew by 15%, South Korea's by almost 10%, Singapore's soared by 21% and Indonesia's managed a respectable 5% (The Economist, 2009).
Keywords: Information and Communication Technologies, Global economy, Economic growth, Telecenter facilities, Mobile payments
