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Digital Inequality In East Asia : Evidence From Japan, South Korea And Singapore

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I examine the extent and causes of digital inequality in the three countries of East Asia – Japan, South Korea and Singapore. I take advantage of individual-level microdata collected in the three countries between 1997 and 2000, and highlight differences in the socio-economic and demographic patterns of technology adoption, usage, and skills across countries and over time. Despite the high overall diffusion rates of information communication technologies (ICT) in all three countries, there remains a clear divide in access and use between various demographic groups. I find that household income, education and gender are the key determinants of digital inequality in all three countries, but there is sizeable variation in their magnitudes. In general, I find that inequality in ICT access, use and skills reflects pre-existing inequality in other areas of economy and society in the three countries.

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  • Ono, Hiroshi, 2005. "Digital Inequality In East Asia : Evidence From Japan, South Korea And Singapore," EIJS Working Paper Series 219, Stockholm School of Economics, The European Institute of Japanese Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:eijswp:0219
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    Cited by:

    1. Yong Kang Cheah & Chun Mei Ning, 2013. "Socio-demographic Determinants of Computer Ownership: An Empirical View in the City of Gui Lin," Institutions and Economies (formerly known as International Journal of Institutions and Economies), Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya, vol. 5(1), pages 57-70, April.
    2. Bera, Subhasis, 2019. "Club convergence and drivers of digitalization across Indian states," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(8), pages 1-1.
    3. Yiping Huang & Xue Wang & Xun Wang, 2020. "Mobile Payment in China: Practice and Its Effects," Asian Economic Papers, MIT Press, vol. 19(3), pages 1-18, Fall.
    4. Kwok-Kee Wei & Hock-Hai Teo & Hock Chuan Chan & Bernard C. Y. Tan, 2011. "Conceptualizing and Testing a Social Cognitive Model of the Digital Divide," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 22(1), pages 170-187, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Internet; computers; digital inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • L86 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Information and Internet Services; Computer Software
    • N35 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Asia including Middle East
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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