The Information Revolution in the Asian-Pacific Region

In this paper, an attempt is made to survey literature dealing with these developments in the Asian-Pacific region. Section I explores the information sector. Section II focuses on telecommunications, the leading edge of the information infrastructure. Section III reviews writing about 'IT-led development', the view of information technology as a powerful tool for the promotion of socioeconomic development. Section IV looks at the role of the World Bank, the largest single hard-currency source of finance for telecommunications in developing countries. Section V reports on some aspects of IT trade and internationalisation. Section VI provides summary country case studies. Section VII raises some questions about the link between telecommunications and economic development.