Tackling social inequality in development: beyond access to appropriation of ICTs for employability

ABSTRACT

This study was motivated to investigate social inequality in developed nations, by studying the impact of ICTs upon the vulnerable unemployed and under-employed in Singapore. First, drawing upon Amartya Sen’s capability approach, we operationalize the dependent variable as self-perceived employability, conceptualized as both a measure of well-being and a livelihood capability. Secondly, we used Neil Selwyn’s digital divide hierarchical impact assessment framework, to define and measure the ICT assets of access, usage, and appropriation. Primary data was gathered from 302 under-employed and unemployed workers in Singapore, a developed Asian economy. Regression analyses revealed that higher-order hierarchies of ICT usage and appropriation were associated with the dependent variable of employability, while access was not. We discuss the implications for development discourse in regions with ubiquitous access, advocating for policymakers to focus on ICT training. Further, we offer nuanced findings on vulnerability in developed economies as an enhancement to mainstream ICT4D scholarship, focused exclusively on poverty in developing countries.

KEYWORDS:

• ICT access
• ICT appropriation
• capability approach
• digital divide
• unemployment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Yvonne Ai-Chi Loh (Ph.D. Nanyang Technological University, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information)’s research focuses on Information and Communication Technologies for urban livelihoods. Dr. Loh is also an Associate Director at the Institute of Public Policy (IPS), an autonomous research centre and think-tank within the National University of Singapore. IPS analyses public policies and generates policy recommendations, often through publishing its findings to a wide audience in Singapore.

Arul Chib (Ph.D. University of Southern California) is Associate Professor at Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, and Director of the SIRCA program. Dr. Chib investigates the impact of mobile phones in healthcare (mHealth) and in transnational migration. He is particularly interested in intersects of gender and marginalization. He has edited three books and published over 75 research articles and book chapters. Dr. Chib won the Prosper.NET-Scopus Young Scientist Award for ICT for sustainable development, accompanied by a fellowship from the Humboldt Foundation.

Notes

1 ICT4D is the application of ICTs for social, economic, and political development, with a traditional orientation towards helping poor and marginalized people and communities.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Nanyang Technology University [grant number WKWSCI 3K Grant for Research Students].