Are Computers Needed in Developing Countries?

Abstract

Are computers needed to satisfy the social and economic needs of developing countries? It is certainly true that governments of many of these countries have decided that computers are essential. Why have they done so? Why have computers entered the national economies of industrial nations so rapidly and pervasively? Are developing countries merely being forced to follow suit, or do they have their own reasons for using computers? In this introductory chapter we approach such questions and consider what functions computers serve in developing countries, what structures are needed for their introduction and what kinds of problems occur.