Understanding Digital Gaps
Understanding Digital Gaps
A Quartet of Empirical Methodologies
This chapter presents a series of exercises in using statistical methods to analyze the digital divide, using China as an example. In particular, it describes four empirical methodologies and their underlying principles, along with their potential usefulness to planners and policy makers: static and dynamic analysis/analytic hierarchy process (AHP), hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA), time distance analysis (TDA), and data envelopment analysis (DEA). These four approaches have the same starting point, the Informatization Level index. The chapter suggests that there is no perfect way to measure either the digital divide or e-readiness, due to the limitations of dealing with proxies (indicators), and cites two general critiques: conceptual imprecision and issues of measurement. It calls for the development of a general theory of informatization, of which the analysis of the digital divide and e-readiness are just particular applications.
Keywords: statistical methods, digital divide, China, static and dynamic analysis, analytic hierarchy process, hierarchical clustering analysis, time distance analysis, data envelopment analysis, e-readiness, informatization
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