Posted at Critical Opinion Website from IPN

A recent World Bank report on technology and development (The Economist, 7 Feb. 08, subscribers only) confirms what we've been saying for a while: without the right institutions to facilitate trade and development, such as legally-recognisable property rights and the rule of law, the gains from new technology in under-developed countries will be limited.

It's true that mobile phones can stimulate more economic activity and help people help themselves. But few other technologies, if any, are capable of replicating what mobile telephony has already achieved in countries where markets are rigged by powerful politicians and basic infrastructure remains inadequate for all but the ruling clique.

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