New Perspectives on Current Development Policy: Covid-19, the Digital Divide, and State Internet Regulation (SpringerBriefs in Economics)

This book presents new perspectives on current development policy against the background of the Covid-19 pandemic. The author applies new methodological, disciplinary, and analytical approaches to examine specific major contemporary policy issues. The topics covered include the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in developing countries, an anomaly in the digital divide, Internet connectivity differences in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the domination of India in the spread of new, low-cost smart feature phones. This book is a must-read for a general audience interested in the current development policy in the light of the current Covid-19 pandemic, as well as for students and researchers of development economics and development studies who are interested in issues involving the digital divide and state policy towards the internet in the Global-South. Acknowledgements Contents Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Main Conclusions by Chapter References Chapter 2: Cognitive Dissonance Theory and Policy Towards the Corona Epidemic in Developing Countries 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Resolution of Cognitive Dissonance 2.3 Dissonance Theory and the Pandemic 2.4 Policy Derived from Dissonance Theory 2.4.1 Forced Compliance 2.5 Non-Coercive Methods of Compliance 2.5.1 Group Pressure 2.5.2 The Foot-in-the-Door Technique 2.5.3 Induced Hypocrisy 2.5.4 The Dynamics of Dissonance Policy 2.5.5 Nudging 2.6 Conclusions References Chapter 3: Digital Divide Reversal: Evidence, Explanations, and Implications 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Digital Divide Reversal: The Data 3.3 Explanations 3.3.1 Demographics and the Popularity of Gaming 3.3.2 The Differential Value of Time 3.3.3 Communications and Infrastructural Differences 3.3.4 Costs of Internet Data and Affordability 3.4 Conclusions and Implications References Chapter 4: Why Is India So Dominant in the Demand for New Smart Feature Phones That Are Internet Connected? 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Methodology 4.3 Explaining the Indian Experience with the JioPhone in Comparative Perspective 4.3.1 Generation 4.4 Pre-Adoption (Binary Decisions) 4.5 Adoption 4.6 Use of Adopted Smart Feature Phones 4.7 Welfare Effects 4.8 Conclusion References Chapter 5: Interregional and Intercountry Analysis of Mobile Internet Connectivity in Sub-Saharan Africa 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Interregional Analysis of Determinants of Mobile Internet Connectivity 5.3 Affordability: Handsets, Data, and Incomes 5.4 Digital Skills 5.5 Rural-Urban Gaps by Region 5.6 Intercountry Variations in Internet Connectivity and its Determinants 5.6.1 Affordability 5.6.2 Network Coverage 5.6.3 Digital Skills 5.7 Conclusions References Chapter 6: Mobile Use of the Internet Among the Poor in the Global South: Preferences, Theories, and Policies 6.1 Introduction 6.2 The Argument 6.3 The Evidence 6.4 Alternative Explanations 6.5 Digital Skills, Information, and the Choice of Leisure 6.6 Welfare Implications 6.7 Policy Implications 6.8 Conclusions References