Globalization in development: do information and communication technologies really matter
ABSTRACT: Theories and practises of development have evolved since the 1950s when modernist theories were used to replicate the European model in Southern countries and Structuralist theories suggested that these countries needed to limit their interactions with the global economy to allow for domestic economic growth. This trend was followed by dependency theories in the 1960s and 1970s that focussed on government and aid policies to provide for the world’s poorest people (Willis, 2011). However, Willis (2011) suggests that the global economic problems of the 1980s and the recognition that development theories had not been translated into practical success led theorists to stop and think about development. In particular, globalization is becoming a main factor affecting the incomes and living conditions of people. Castells (2004) writes about the rise of the fourth world brought about by disparities in incomes of people within the same country. He states that there is a polarization in the distribution of wealth at the global level, increasing income inequality within countries and a rise in poverty within most developed and developing countries. It appears that the greatest inequality is between urban and rural areas with the rural populations being worse off than their urban counterparts (Castells, 2004; Willis, 2011).
Keywords: Globalization, technological revolution, information-processing devices, Human Development Index, Inter-organizational systems, m-development
