The report argues that “the technology divide does not have to follow the income divide”, but can be leveraged as a powerful tool for poverty reduction.  Acknowledging concerns that such new technologies might be irrelevant to the developing world or “might actually widen the already savage inequalities between North and South, rich and poor,” the report emphasizes the vital importance of carefully ‘forged’ public policies. “Without innovative public policy, these technologies could become a source of exclusion, not a tool of progress. The needs of poor people could remain neglected, new global risks left unmanaged. But managed well, the rewards could be greater than the risks.”

 

Sources:

UNDP, Human Development Report 2001: Making New Technologies Work for Human Development (Oxford Univ. Press, New York, 2001).