The Role of Information and Communication Technologies in Transition Economies

摘要

This research investigates the role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in transition economies (TEs). We identify how ICT spending influences the transition process of TEs with respect to socioeconomic and sociopolitical changes in the three groups of TEs from 2004 to 2010. These groups include the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Latin America, and BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China). Our results suggest that while ICT spending is positively correlated with overall economic freedom and job creation, such investments do not significantly improve the democratic values or mitigate the existing high wealth-inequality level. Furthermore, the results from individual regions show that the impacts of ICT spending on transition processes differ according to the intention of ICT uses. These findings have implications for theorizing about the role of ICT and harnessing the potential of ICT in the transition processes in new economies.