Diverse Dimensions of the 'Digital Divide': Perspectives from New Zealand

Abstract

This paper examines issues of the digital divide in each country and discusses similarities and differences in the policies adopted to ameliorate it. The paper presented here is subtitled 'a perspective from New Zealand' because it documents my own conclusions resulting from my position as an academic applying an economic lens to the issues of the digital divide. Whilst it refers to elements of the New Zealand policy response it is not intended to provide a full or comprehensive documentation of New Zealand government policy in this area. Rather the paper seeks to take a critical view of both the benefits and costs of some of the perceptions of the digital divide and the policy interventions adopted to ameliorate them. In a longitudinal context it appears that there is a large empirical literature identifying and measuring a range of 'digital divides' over many dimensions and a large number of policy instruments designed to ameliorate them but at first blush it appears that many of the divides persist and are widening rather than narrowing. This suggests that either the policies used already are either ill-targeted or largely impotent or even worse despite their good intentions have contrary effects on the indicators used to measure the existence of the divides. This paper addresses some of these issues.