Diffusion of the Internet : A Cross-Country Analysis

This paper analyzes the process of Internet diffusion across the world using a panel of 199 countries during 1990-2004. The authors group countries in two categories-low and high-income countries-and show that the Internet diffusion process is well characterized by an S-shape curve for both groups. Low-income countries display a steeper diffusion curve that is equivalent to a right shift of the diffusion curve for high-income countries. The estimated diffusion curves provide evidence of a "catching-up" process, although a very slow one. The paper explores the determinants of Internet diffusion at the country level and across the same income groups. The most novel finding is that network effects seem to be crucial-the number of Internet users in a country in a given year is positively associated with the number of users in the previous year. The findings also show that the degree of competition in the provision of Internet service contributes positively to its diffusion, and there are significant positive language externalities.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Cuberes, David, Andrés, Luis, Diouf, Mame Astou, Serebrisky, Tomás
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2007-12
Subjects:	ACCESS TO INFORMATION, ACCESS TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES, ACCESS TO INTERNET, ADOPTION OF INFORMATION, ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES, BANDWIDTH, BASIC, BENCHMARK, BROADBAND, CABLE MODEM, CLASSIFICATION, COMPUTERS, COMPUTING, CONNECTIVITY, CONNECTIVITY INFRASTRUCTURE, CONTENTS, DIGITAL, DIGITAL DIVIDE, DSL, ECONOMIC COOPERATION, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ELECTRONIC MAIL, EMAIL ADDRESSES, ENTRY, EXTERNALITIES, GROUP OF USERS, HIGH INCOME, HIGH INCOME COUNTRIES, HIGH-SPEED, HUMAN CAPITAL, ICT, INCOME, INCOME COUNTRIES, INCOME GROUPS, INCOME LEVEL, INCOME LEVELS, INDICES, INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES, INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY, INFORMATION ECONOMICS, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES, INNOVATION, INNOVATIONS, INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION, INTERNET ACCESS, INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS, INTERNET SERVICES, INTERNET USE, ISP, ISPS, LATIN AMERICAN, LIBRARIES, LOSS OF INFORMATION, LOW INCOME, MANUFACTURING, MARKETING, MIDDLE INCOME, MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES, NETWORK EXTERNALITIES, NETWORK INDUSTRIES, NEW TECHNOLOGY, NUMBER OF USERS, PENETRATION RATES, PERSONAL COMPUTER, PHONE LINES, PROBABILITY, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS, PRODUCTIVITY, PROPERTY RIGHTS, PURCHASING POWER, READING, RESULT, RESULTS, ROBUSTNESS ANALYSIS, SAN, SEARCH, SIMULATION, SITES, TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE, TECHNOLOGICAL INFRASTRUCTURE, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE, TELECOMMUNICATIONS MARKETS, TELEPHONE, TIME PERIOD, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, USER, USER MODEL, USERS, USES, WEB, WEB SITES, WEBSITE,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/12/8821826/diffusion-internet-cross-country-analysis https://hdl.handle.net/10986/7636
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