Measurement of the Intersectoral Digital Divide with the Gini Coefficients: Case Study Turkey and Lithuania

Abstract

The digital divide, which arises from the usage differences of the information systems and appears as a new inequality is a concept which affects negatively the business processes. This concept which is in general scrutinized personally, regionally and globally and which is neglected by the sectors and the enterprises, takes its place among the major factors affecting the sectoral and economic structure. Thus it is important to determine the inequality levels resulting in the digital divide which is becomes deeper together with the developing technology. In general the computer and internet usage rates are used as indexes for determination of the digital divide levels and the analyses are carried out with statistical methods according to the demographic variables. Gini method, one of the standard tools of inequality measurement, is rarely encountered in the digital divide studies. The purpose of this study is to determine the intersectoral digital divide by Gini method.

The usage differences of the Turkish and Lithuanian sectoral information systems were analyzed in order to determine the digital divide by Gini method. The data was obtained from the reports published by Tuik and Eurostat between 2010 and 2013 based on the studies of the usage of the information systems by the enterprises. Gini values which show the sectoral digital divide were calculated using the data regarding the computer, internet, social media usages, having web page and selling over web which belong to the sectors classified according to the Nace Rev.2 system. The analysis revealed the both Turkey and Lithuania have low levels of sectoral digital divide. The highest level of digital divide was observed in the case of the selling over web and an increasing trend of the sectoral differences has been identified. Although Lithuania had high rates of information systems usage, it has been determined that the intersectoral differences are more than those in Turkey, in terms of usage of the information systems.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.27.4.13882