Information and communication technologies for development: Reshaping poverty in South Africa

• Main Author: Diga, Kathleen
• Other Authors: May, J D
• Language: en
• Published: University of Western Cape 2021
• Subjects: Poverty; South Africa; Information and communication technologies for development (ICTD); Sustainable livelihoods; Asset approach
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11394/7838

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD === The aim of this thesis is to examine the association between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and poverty reduction in South Africa. ICTs have been argued to be a means to improve household livelihoods and thereby to provide people with the capability of changing their existing poverty trajectories. The study conceptually investigates ICTs as a contributor to human development through the theoretical lens the sustainable livelihoods framework (SLF). Since ICTs broaden the asset base of the poor, the study first theorises household access to ICT as a new form of capital, termed as the ‘digital basket’. This new wealth indicator augments the current well-developed list of capitals adopted within the SLF approach. This digital basket concept and the ICT systems that provide its components are described, establishing the theoretical contributions of this thesis.