Digital Divide: From Computer Access to Online Activities–A Micro Data Analysis

This study addresses issues of digital divide among households and individuals by using micro-data analysis of ICT usage patterns.  The analysis includes data from  18 European countries (2008), Korea (2008)  and Canada (2007). Inequalities in computer and Internet use are analysed in a two-step approach. First, the paper tries to better quantify and understand the factors that separate the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’. Second, it tries to explain observed differences in the frequency and type of Internet use as a result of the socio-economic characteristics of households and individuals.

The study applies logistic regression and multi-linear regression models to measure the influence of one variable while controlling for the other variables. In particular, age, gender, educational attainment, employment situation, geographical location, household income and composition are used to explain the observed differences in computer and Internet access and use (first part) and Internet frequency of use, selected Internet activities, and Internet scope of use (second part).

The study proves the feasibility of performing micro data analysis of surveys of ICT usage in  households and by individuals. It shows that:

Low income is the single most important factor for non access to a computer and to the Internet. On average, the odds that a high-income household in Europe has access to a computer and to the  Internet are over 4 times higher than for a low-income household.

The presence of children is the second most important factor for the access to a computer and to  the Internet: on average, the odds for a household with one or more children in Europe are up to 3.9 times higher than for a household without children.

Living in a town in Europe increases the odds to have access to a computer and to the Internet by  over 30% as compared to living in the countryside.

Age and economic inactivity are by far the most important factors for having never used a  computer or the Internet. The odds are over 4 times higher for European inhabitants aged 65-74 years and up to 2.6 times for those out of the labour force. (Low) income, gender (female) and (lack of) children do play a role but their effect is smaller.

Becoming unemployed is the most important factor for stopping using the Internet. The odds that a European inhabitant has not used the Internet over the last 3 months are about 2 times higher if he is unemployed or out of the labour force.

Education is the most important  determinant of the intensity of Internet use. The odds that an individual uses the Internet everyday increases by 2.4 times in Europe and by 3.6 times in Korea if he has a university degree and above.

Being a student is the second most important determinant of the intensity of Internet use – the odds that a student uses the Internet every day are 2 times higher both in Europe and in Korea.

The third factor explaining the intensity of Internet use is income in Europe (the  odds are  over 70% higher for the high-income households) and broadband access in Korea (the odds are  2 times higher for households with a broadband connection).

Young age and higher education are the main determinants for the scope of Internet use in Canada, Europe and Korea.

Montagnier, P. and A. Wirthmann (2011), “Digital Divide: From Computer Access to Online Activities – A Micro Data Analysis”, OECD Digital Economy Papers, No. 189, OECD Publishing.OECD Digital Economy Papers.No. 189

Digital Divide: From Computer Access to Online Activities – A Micro Data Analysis

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OECD Council Recommendation on Principles for Internet Policy Making

13 December 2011. The Seoul Declaration on the Future of the Internet Economy adopted at the 2008 OECD Ministerial on the Future of the Internet Economy recognised that the Internet provides an open, decentralised platform for communication, collaboration, innovation, creativity, productivity improvement and economic growth. Building on the Seoul Declaration, the OECD’s High-Level Meeting on The Internet Economy: Generating Innovation and Growth, held in June 2011, highlighted that the strength and dynamism of the Internet depends on its ease of access to high-speed networks, openness, and on user confidence.

In the context of this High-Level Meeting, we, the representatives of OECD Members, Egypt and of stakeholders including the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC), and the Internet Technical Community (ITAC), agreed on a number of basic principles for Internet policy making as an important step in ensuring that the Internet remains open and dynamic.

We recognised that the Internet allows people to give voice to their democratic aspirations, and any policy-making associated with it must promote openness and be grounded in respect for human rights and the rule of law.

We recognised the essential contribution of stakeholders, including business, civil society, the Internet technical community and academic institutions, to the ongoing development of the Internet and the enrichment of society using the Internet.

We stressed that more ubiquitous access to and use of broadband Internet networks, which are available in a competitive market and at affordable prices, will help foster innovation and drive the growth of the Internet Economy and of the economy in general.

We emphasised that, in certain cases, public support and investment may be needed to ensure the greatest practical availability of these networks in our countries, in particular in rural and remote areas, and that such public intervention should support market competition and promote private investment initiatives.

We underlined the importance of generating demand and the significant role that governments can play in this regard by stimulating the use of broadband Internet networks in areas such as science, education, health, transportation and smart electricity grids as well as promoting the use of Internet for an ageing society.

We recognised that new and evolving technologies and protocols, with their enabling effect on broader opportunities and innovation such as IPv6, the Semantic Web and cloud computing, are emerging as a general engine for economic and social development. In the context of recent natural disasters we recognised that a resilient network can play a crucial role in ensuring information sharing and facilitating rapid aid distribution.

The Internet has grown and diffused extremely rapidly across the globe, and continues to bring significant benefits to economies and societies. Individual innovators, and a co-operative multi-stakeholder

Scientific Standards for Studies on Modified Risk Tobacco Products

Internet economy: wireless subscribers drive broadband growth, says OECD

OECD 01/12/2011. Demand from new wireless broadband subscribers is driving growth in high-speed Internet in OECD countries but the latest data show a slowdown in fixed subscriptions in the first half of 2011.

New wireless broadband subscriptions maintained double digit growth, rising by 14% from the last half of 2010. Year-on-year, wireless subscriptions rose by 26%.

Fixed wired broadband subscriptions increased by only 2.25% between December 2010 and June 2011 (5.83% year-on-year), down from 6% in the last half of 2010. Today, there are 309 million fixed subscribers in the OECD.

Globally, Switzerland and the Netherlands top the fixed broadband ranking (with over 38 lines per 100 inhabitants). The OECD average is 25.1.

Korea (99.3), Sweden (93.6), Japan (80.0) and Finland (79.1) are the leading countries in wireless broadband penetration, some of them nearly doubling the OECD average of 47.9.

The share of DSL and cable subscription remains stable (58.8% and 29.5%). Fibre-to-the-home subscriptions continued to grow and now represent 13% of broadband subscription (3,5% growth in six months).

Nordic countries, with among the highest fixed broadband penetration, demonstrate very low growth in this segment and even slight falls in Finland and Iceland. They also have among the highest wireless broadband penetration rates, which indicates the overall complementary nature of these networks.

New Zealand saw a rapid rise in both fixed and wireless broadband, moving to 12th from 16th in the broadband ranking, boosted by the entry of a third mobile network operator, 2Degrees, in 2010. Demand is also likely to grow in France in 2012 with the entry of a new wireless operator, Iliad, bringing increasing competiton in prices and services to the market.

OECD countries are reporting wireless broadband data in an increasingly harmonized manner  with the OECD wireless broadband methodology, as rankings are more stable than when these were first reported  in 2010

More information about the OECD broadband portal is available at

http://www.oecd.org/sti/ict/broadband

For comment or further information, journalists should contact Agustin Diaz-Pines (agustin.diaz-pines@oecd.org or tel. + 33 1 45 24 19 62) or Frédéric Bourassa (frederic.bourassa@oecd.org or tel. + 33 1 45 24 81 42) of the OECD’s Information, Communications and Consumer Policy division.

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