Measuring the Second Digital Divide: Education and Skills

As it is usually conceived, the digital divide between rich and poor countries refers to differences in access to digital technologies. The second digital divide on the other hand, is concerned with the factors that determine whether and how the adopted technologies are used and the extent of the benefits that are derived from them (one such factor, for example, is digital skills). The original feature of this chapter is that it seeks to measure the second digital divide between rich and poor countries and to compare the outcome with the more familiar divide in digital access (and the internet in particular). The former is measured with reference to two key technology complements, namely, attainments in reading and mathematics on the one hand and digital skills on the other. What I find is that even the acute divide in the Internet is surpassed by the figures representing the second divide in literacy and mathematics. This finding is attributed mainly to the acute crisis in learning that besets many schools in poor countries, especially those in Sub-Saharan Africa. Somewhat oddly, though, the divide in digital skills is less acute than for learning achievements. Apparently, certain digital skills can be acquired without prior competencies in basic education.