Abstract
Very small island states face challenges that are unique and may benefit from coordinated electronic governance strategies. They have populations of less than 1.5 million, are susceptible to natural disasters, have higher volatility in their economies, greater reliance on larger economies for trade, remittances from nationals living abroad and limited capacity in their domestic industries and public sector services. In particular, very small island states have populations of which a large portion comprise of tourists, limited resource base and tend to rely on service industries such as tourism and offshore finance to sustain their vulnerable economies. This means that these states need assistance in building their capacity to sustain economic development. In particular, there is a correlation between Information and Communication Technology (ICT) usage and per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which may enable greater capacity building efforts to be successful in small island states. This paper draws upon the most recent data on the very small island states to arrive at an analysis of the link between ICT usage and per capita GDP growth. Following a regression analysis of two hypotheses, further analysis is conducted to identify a multiplier effect between ICT usage and per capita GDP growth. This paper illustrates how the ICT multiplier effect takes place to bring about increases in per capita GDP. An understanding of the relationship between these two indicators can enable capacity building strategies to be developed that can contribute to sustainable development in the small island states.
Recommended Citation
Qureshi, Sajda and Najjar, Lotfollah, "A Model for ICT Capacity Building in Very Small Island States: How does ICT usage increase per capita incomes?" (2013). GlobDev 2013. 20.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/globdev2013/20