Poverty reduction in the Arab world - the use of ICTs or how ICT can be used to empower poor people as long as government creates an enabling environment

Title: Poverty reduction in the Arab world - the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)

Authors: Allam Ahmed of the University of Sussex and the Middle Easter Knowledge Economy Institute, Amer Al-Roubaie of Ahlia University in Manama, Bahrain

Quick summary: 

This paper argues that proper and sustained investment in information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure along with investment in ICT human resources will help to reduce poverty, particularly in developing countries.  ICT is, apparently, great for poverty reduction because ICT connects the poor to the global economy and vice versa (that is, good ICT infrastructure and human resources attract foreign investment.)

The paper suggests that such investment will prioritise bringing sustainable, long-term ICT infrastructure to all parts of a developing country, including rural areas, and that such investment will fail if it does not also include strong training programs that will match existing ICT to 'indigenous' knowledge. In other words, worthwhile ICT investment must make sure that poor people both appreciate not only how to use the ICT infrastructure made available to them but must also immediately understand why this particular ICT is helpful to them. (So don't link 'em and leave 'em.)

The paper's big push is that with the proper e-strategy and good implementation, government can create an 'enabling environment' that will both support ICT development and investment in their country and support poverty reduction through including the poor in that ICT development and investment. To ensure success, governments need strong commitment from political leadership to push forward the use of modern technology, legal frameworks that enable ICT policies (i.e. encourage the sharing of information and protect proprietary software - remember that foreign investment we want to attract), and governments need to actually implement their ICT plan of action (rather than just endorse the plan and move on).

 Why poverty reduction in Arab countries? 

I sort of loved this paper's definition of poverty: "Poverty is a product of man's failure to allocate resources in an equitable manner." After that, several citations of other work by the author Al-Roubaie point out that proper implementation of Shariah law in Arabic countries would go a long way in reducing poverty. (The sideways mentions of this make evident at least one of the author's opinions on where Arabic governments are lacking ethical stamina.)

The final definition of poverty is pulled from the World Bank, which has noted that poverty has six 'prominent' dimensions:

•  hunger
•  psychological impact ("powerlessness, voicelessness, dependency, shame and humilation") 
•  lack of access to basic infrastructure (not further defined in this paper)
•  lack of schooling (and/or literacy)
•  substandard physical health
•  a focus on managing assets (physical, human, social and environmental) as a method of copingn with vulnerability. (This because assets are all the poor have, given the poor lack an income.)

 The paper also notes that poverty is relative, and that this relative gap between rich and poor is increasing.

Citing statistics from 2008, the article notes that the share of the richest 20% in Jordan accounted for more than 47% of the country's total income while the poorest 20% accounted for 6.7% of the country's total income. In Egypt, the richest 20% of the country got 43.6% of Egypt's total income while the bottom 20% got 8.6 percent. Plus, the rich in many Arab countries store their wealth in non-Arab banks, evading national taxes and any potential wealth redistribution while Arab governments tend to concentrate investment in urban areas, while much of the poverty in the Arab world, the article notes, is in rural areas.

 Why ICT?

ICT encourages innovation and is a necessary investment if Arab countries are going to participate in the global economy, which is increasingly a 'knowledge-driven' economy. Money goes to the smartest who, it appears, are also the most tech-savvy. This means investing in the proper infrastructure and ensuring you have the human resources capable of taking advantage of this infrastructure.

This means digital literacy is a matter of national economic importance. And there are, the article notes, parallels between digital literacy and development. Citing 2010 statistics from the World Bank, the article notes that there are 3.7 internet users per every 100 potential users in low-income countries while in high-income countries, there are 67.1 internet users per every 100 potential users.

Some nationally-specific stats:

•  16.6 users per every potential 100 in Egypt,
•  1.6 per 100 in Yemen,
•  10.2 per 100 in Sudan,
•  11.9 per 100 in Algeria,
•  17.3 per 100 in Syria,
•  86.1 per 100 in the UK,
•  84.2 per 100 in Denmark,
•  77.1 per 100 in South Korea. 

 So ICT infrastructure and general digital literacy seems to parallel the economic productivity of a country. ICT also has obvious uses as an 'enabler of development' when it comes to international development goals, such as the Millennium Development Goals, international development objectives determined by a bunch of governments a while ago and set to expire in 2015. The achievement of each of these goals can be aided by the proper use of ICT - it's just a matter of matching the right tech to the tool to the right goal (more on this in Table 1 in the article.)

 So how can ICT help reduce poverty in the Arab world?

ICT can connect poverty-stricken populations to the knowledge required to participate in the global economy. And then, of course, it can actually connect people to the global economy (to markets and jobs and what-not). But ICT alone is not the solution.

 Arab governments need long-term vision. They need e-strategies that will connect their citizens, particularly the poor ones, to the infrastructure and education and 'capacity-building' (favoured policy word) required to take advantage of all the opportunities ICT could provide. The paper stresses that to do this, Arab governments need three things: political leadership that is committed to the cause of modern technology, an established and enforceable legal infrastructure that 'enables' ICT policy (protects proprietary ICT - and its investors), and they need to actually implement their ICT action plans (governments often talk a great game but fail to actually pull through).

 Potential problems?

Government involvement is essential because ICT is often (like pharmaceuticals) created by the rich and developed for the rich and developed. There is not a lot of immediate economic incentive for innovative ICT leaders to prop up the poverty stricken with long-term, sustainable ICT-enabled development.

Arab countries sometimes have legal infrastructures that discourage the free and unfettered exchange of information. This is, the article suggests, not ideal for attracting ICT infrastructure or encouraging digital literacy. There needs to be a more free environment when it comes to how people use the infrastructure or few will bother to access it for fear of causing them more problems than benefits.

Women need to be involved in ICT action plans. Women need to be digitally literate. This is particularly essential when it comes to the rural poor in Arab countries where women, the article notes, provide a lot of the labor force.

Technology in many Arab countries is not produced domestically but rather imported from other countries, meaning that it may not always be adopted as expected by the indigenous population. Tech, like much else in the world, comes from people, and thus it comes rooted in a way of thinking, a reality, a time period, and in the capabilities of those who developed the tech. This means that while a specific ICT may make beautiful sense to those from whence it came, it may seem a bizarre blip to those to whom it is imported. Keep this in mind when developing your strategy and make sure that adoption of any ICT is sustainable, from the bottom-up.

I am reading articles on technology and public policy because one day I want to do a PhD on this stuff. To make sure I read the articles, I'm summarising what I remember here and filing it under 'professional stuff' in my labels. The parenthetical statements are usually mine while the rest is where I try to accurately represent what I took from the article.