Measuring Spatial Differences of Informatization in China  

作　　者：SONG Zhouying LIU Weidong MA Li Michael DUNFORD 

机构地区：[1]Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling,Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research,Chinese Academy of Sciences [2]School of Global Studies,University of Sussex Brighton BN1 9QN,UK

出　　处：《Chinese Geographical Science》2014年第6期717-731,共15页中国地理科学（英文版）

基　　金：Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41001081,41371006);Key Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(No.KZZD-EW-06)

摘　　要：As the wide application of new Information and Communication Technologies （ICTs） shows, the world is moving fast to- wards an information age. Since China was first connected to the Internet in 1994, the development of ICTs in China and around the world has been astonishingly fast, and yet there is a clear ＇digital divide＇ among different regions in China. Although Chinese geogra- phers have paid attention to regional differences in informatization, they usually employ a limited number of indicators, mainly focusing on the Intemet. In fact, infi^rmatization is a much broader concept, covering not only the lntemet, but also mobile phones as well as user ability. In the light of these considerations, this study provides a comprehensive examination of the development of informatization and its spatial differences in China. First, based on a literature review, the paper identifies 29 preliminary indicators for measuring informa- tization, and employs prin,-ipal components analysis and the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process to streamline them into 12 indicators to form an ICTs Developmen： Index （ID1）. Second, by using the data from provincial statistical yearbooks and the China Internet Network Information Center, the paper calculates the 1191 of each mega-region and each province in 2000-2010, and measures the changing spa- tial differences in the development of informatization in China. Lastly, the paper quantifies the relationship between informatization and economic growth. The empirical results show that the IDI of the western and central China has been increasing faster than that of the coastal region, indicating that the digital divide in China has been narrowing.As the wide application of new Information and Communication Technologies(ICTs) shows, the world is moving fast towards an information age. Since China was first connected to the Internet in 1994, the development of ICTs in China and around the world has been astonishingly fast, and yet there is a clear ′digital divide′ among different regions in China. Although Chinese geographers have paid attention to regional differences in informatization, they usually employ a limited number of indicators, mainly focusing on the Internet. In fact, informatization is a much broader concept, covering not only the Internet, but also mobile phones as well as user ability. In the light of these considerations, this study provides a comprehensive examination of the development of informatization and its spatial differences in China. First, based on a literature review, the paper identifies 29 preliminary indicators for measuring informatization, and employs principal components analysis and the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process to streamline them into 12 indicators to form an ICTs Development Index(IDI). Second, by using the data from provincial statistical yearbooks and the China Internet Network Information Center, the paper calculates the IDI of each mega-region and each province in 2000–2010, and measures the changing spatial differences in the development of informatization in China. Lastly, the paper quantifies the relationship between informatization and economic growth. The empirical results show that the IDI of the western and central China has been increasing faster than that of the coastal region, indicating that the digital divide in China has been narrowing.

关 键 词：informatizatiort Information and Communication Technologies （ICTs） Development Index （ID1） spatial ditlbrence digital divide 

分 类 号：F49[经济管理—产业经济]