ICTs and Caribbean development: what are the prospects for bridging the digital divide?

摘要

Information communications technologies (ICTs) are generally viewed as one of the contemporary strategies to redress or bridge the digital and knowledge divide. This paper assesses the value of such claims by analysing the structure and workings of the global knowledge sector and its impact on and prospects for developing country regions. The paper uses a case study of the Caribbean to illustrate the challenges faced by small island developing states. From this standpoint, the paper challenges the neoliberal postulations about the socioeconomic benefits of harnessing ICTs by focusing on an analysis of technoeconomic change and the structural causes of underdevelopment.