Information Content Development initiatives in Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Philippines and Vietnam-a cross country analysis

摘要

The four countries studied under the SPIID are at difference stages of development. Population-wise Indonesia is the largest: 207 million in 1999, and Korea (Republic of) is the lowest: 47 million. Vietnam and the Philippines are of equal size 78 and 77 million respectively. Korea is urban centric (81:19), diametrically opposite is vietnam (20:80); whereas, in the Philippines and Indonesia the population is more or less equally distributed. Facilities tend to concentrate more in urban centres, in an organic process of development. The population being more dispersed, it costs more to extend a facility to rural areas. Further, the urban population presumably has more financial strength, better exposure to the world at large, and craving for a better life style and willingness to bear the necessary costs. Wereas, the rural population is usually more conservative. They believe in leading a simple and austere life style. Perhaps they are more resistant to falling for a technology drivne life even when they can afford it. As a result, the disposable surplus is likely to be more with the rural rich than the urban rich. Such characteristics have tremendous bearing on the development of information systems at the macro level.