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A knowledge economy or an information society in Africa? Thintegration and the mobile phone revolution

A knowledge economy or an information society in Africa? Thintegration and the mobile phone... Much has been written about the impacts of new information and communication technology in Africa and its transformational socio-economic impacts. The penetration of mobile phones in particular has been particularly marked in recent years. This paper seeks to interrogate the hypothesis of transformation by examining the ways in which Africa is integrated into the global mobile phone value chain, and then the uses to which this technology is put on the continent. There is a fundamental distinction between having a knowledge economy and an information society. While mobiles are having significant, and sometimes welfare-enhancing impacts, their use is embedded in existing relations of social support, and also conflict. Consequently, their impacts are dialectical, facilitating change, but also reinforcing existing power relations. While Africa may be an information society, it is not, as yet, developing a knowledge economy. Mobile phone usage then represents a form of thin, rather than thick, integration (“thintegration”) in the global economy, which, because it does not lead to high value-added exports, does not fundamentally alter the continent's dependent position. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Information Technology for Development Taylor & Francis

A knowledge economy or an information society in Africa? Thintegration and the mobile phone revolution

Information Technology for Development , Volume 19 (1): 16 – Jan 1, 2013
16 pages

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References (111)

Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
Copyright Commonwealth Secretariat
ISSN
1554-0170
eISSN
0268-1102
DOI
10.1080/02681102.2012.719859
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Much has been written about the impacts of new information and communication technology in Africa and its transformational socio-economic impacts. The penetration of mobile phones in particular has been particularly marked in recent years. This paper seeks to interrogate the hypothesis of transformation by examining the ways in which Africa is integrated into the global mobile phone value chain, and then the uses to which this technology is put on the continent. There is a fundamental distinction between having a knowledge economy and an information society. While mobiles are having significant, and sometimes welfare-enhancing impacts, their use is embedded in existing relations of social support, and also conflict. Consequently, their impacts are dialectical, facilitating change, but also reinforcing existing power relations. While Africa may be an information society, it is not, as yet, developing a knowledge economy. Mobile phone usage then represents a form of thin, rather than thick, integration (“thintegration”) in the global economy, which, because it does not lead to high value-added exports, does not fundamentally alter the continent's dependent position.

Journal

Information Technology for DevelopmentTaylor & Francis

Published: Jan 1, 2013

Keywords: Africa; mobile phones; knowledge economy; information society

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