Knowledge Opportunities and ICT. Growth and Inequality: a Middle Income Country Experience

Empirical evidence shows a growing absolute gap between rich and poor people throughout the world. Such growing income differences are the outcome of significant inequalities of opportunities. In this paper we focus on the opportunities provided (or denied) to access knowledge embedded in new information and communication technologies (ICT). We concentrate specifically on knowledge and ICT, as we share the view that one of the ways to improve economic and social conditions in a global environment is through access to crucial knowledge – denying access to such growth inputs might substantially contribute to the perseverance of income inequality. We substantiate this view through the case of Chile, a country that experienced a secular trend of growing income inequality (and polarisation) closely connected to unequal access to education (both in terms of quantity and quality), which risks being magnified by unequal access to ICT. This paper endorses the view that such structural bottlenecks might constrain the possibility to effectively connect new communication technologies to economic growth.