Analyzing developmental strategies and the role of ICT in underdeveloped economies: implications for North Korea.

AbstractWe analyze developmental strategies in various sectors in countries with underdeveloped economies and their implications for North Korea. We investigate the development plans of four underdeveloped transitional economies during the 1990s using the World Bank’s engagement reports. We find an emphasis on energy, transportation, and agriculture in those countries, while development strategies in North Korea focused on ICT in addition to energy, transportation, and agriculture during the same period. Statistical regression analysis reveals that ICT has the greatest potential impact on economic growth. Historically, domestic and external constraints have limited the performance of North Korea’s ICT policy. However, we recommend that ICT should have high priority in North Korea’s strategic development plan for the following reasons: the socio-economic environment is changing; ICT service trade across borders has been increasing; the population is aging; and our analysis identifies disruptive [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]