CITI - Events - 2001 - The Digital Divide: An Inhibitor of Growth?</tr>

		The Digital Divide: An Inhibitor of Growth?
		307 Uris Hall Columbia School of Business Monday, June 11, 2001 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM About the Workshop Who could be against closing the digital divide or expanding universal service? While many have deplored the digital divide, the impact of this "divide" has not been quantified. This panel will explore issues of the digital divide including: What are the goals of closing the divide? What implementation methods are available? What policy instruments are available? What are the most efficient mechanisms? And, ultimately, does closing the digital divide improve productivity, while accelerating growth and development? Little research has been conducted on the economic impact of the universal service obligation on the macro economy. Previous research has focused almost exclusively on the efficacy of financing, the welfare impacts and obtaining the goal of increased telephone penetration. This panel hopes to reverse this trend by searching for answers to the larger macro-economic issues surrounding universal service obligation/digital divide. Does it improve economic growth? Improve productivity? Reduce income inequalities? The panel will propose to judge the policy against economic theory and empirical evidence. Panelists include: James Alleman, Columbia Business School, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information, Presentation Charles Kenny, World Bank, Presentation Milton Mueller, Syracuse University, Presentation Eli Noam, Columbia Business School, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information, Presentation Paul Rappoport, Temple University, Presentation Michael Riordan, Columbia Business School, Presentation Robert Crandall, Brookings Institute Patricia Diaz Dennis, SBC, moderator RSVP: events@vii.org or (212) 854-4222. Directions to Columbia Business School: Uris Hall is located on 3022 Broadway at 117th Street. You may enter campus through the main gates or 117th Street gates during business hours. Take bus lines (M4, M11, M5, M104) or the subways (Broadway IRT #1 and #9 locals) 116th Street. To view a map of Columbia's campus, click here.