Measuring Spatial Differences of Informatization in China

SONG Zhouying; LIU Weidong; MA Li; Michael DUNFORD

doi:10.1007/s11769-013-0646-1

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SONG Zhouying, LIU Weidong, MA Li, Michael DUNFORD. Measuring Spatial Differences of Informatization in China[J]. Chinese Geographical Science, 2014, (6): 717-731. doi: 10.1007/s11769-013-0646-1

Citation:

SONG Zhouying, LIU Weidong, MA Li, Michael DUNFORD. Measuring Spatial Differences of Informatization in China[J]. Chinese Geographical Science, 2014, (6): 717-731. doi: 10.1007/s11769-013-0646-1

Measuring Spatial Differences of Informatization in China

doi: 10.1007/s11769-013-0646-1

1.
Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China;
2.
School of Global Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QN, UK

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

More Information

Corresponding author: SONG Zhouying. E-mail: songzy@igsnrr.ac.cn
Received Date: 2013-02-28
Rev Recd Date: 2013-06-25
Publish Date: 2014-09-27

Abstract

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.
- informatization,
- Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) Development Index (IDI),
- spatial difference,
- digital divide

References

[1]	Abramson B, 2000. Internet globalization indicators. Telecommunications Policy, 24: 69-74. doi: 10.1016/S0308-5961(99) 00072-5
[2]	Bell P, Reddy P, Rainie L, 2004. Rural areas and the Internet. Pew Internet & American Life, 17(2): 32-39. doi: 10.1007/s11606- 008-0899-z
[3]	Bridges.org, 2003. Spanning the Digital Divide: Understanding and Tackling the Issues. Available at: http://www.bridges.org/spanning/download.html
[4]	Castells M, 2010. The Rise of the Network Society (2nd edition). London: John Wiley& Sons Publication.
[5]	CNNIC (China Internet Network Information Center), 1997- 2013. Statistical Report on Internet Development in China. Available at: http://www.cnnic.net.cn/hlwfzyj/hlwxzbg/. (in Chinese)
[6]	Chen W, Wellman B, 2003. Charting and Bridgind Digital Divides: Comparing Socio-economic, Gender, Life Stage and Rural-Urban Internet Access and Use in Eight Countries. AMD Global Consumer Advisory Board.
[7]	Cooper M, 2002. Does the Digital Divide Still Exist? Bush Administration Shrugs, But Evidence Says 'Yes'. Available at: http://www.consumerfed.org/DigitalDivideReport20020530.pdf.
[8]	Crump B, Mcllroy A, 2003. The digital divide: Why the 'don't- wants-tos' wont Compute: Lessons from a New Zealand ICT Project. First Monday, 8(12): 23-26. doi: 10.1177/146144809 354212
[9]	DiMaggio P, Hargittai E, 2001. From the 'Digital Divide' to Digital Inequality: Studying Internet Use as Penetration Increases. The United States: Working Paper of Princeton University.
[10]	Donnermeyer F J, 2003. Digital divide evidence in four rural touwns. IT & Society, 1(4): 107-117. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642- 02766-6
[11]	Dunning J, 2009. Location and the multinational enterprise: A neglected factor. Journal of International Business Studies, 40(1): 5-19. doi: 10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490024
[12]	Graham S, Marvin S, 1996. Telecommunications and the City: Electronic Spaces, Urban Places. London: Routledge.
[13]	Graham S, Marvin S, 2001. Splintering Urbanism: Networked Infrastructures, Technological Mobilities and the Urban Condition. London: Routledge.
[14]	Hargittai E, 2002. Second-level digital divide: Differences in people's online skills. First Monday, 7(4): 1-20. doi: 10.1177/036354650528191
[15]	Hoffman D, Novak T, Schlosser A, 2000. The evolution of digital divide: How gaps in Internet access may impact electronic commerce. Journal of Computer-mediated Communication, 5(3): 200-203. doi: 10.1003/3513-1-2856-g(95)04704-5
[16]	Horrigan J, Rainie L, 2004. The broadband difference. In: Pew Internet & American Life. Available at: http://www.pewInternet. org/pdfs/PIP_Broadband_Report.pdf
[17]	ITU (International Telecommunication Union), 2003. ITU Digital Access Index: World's First Global ICT Ranking. Available at: http://itu/newsarchive/press_releases/2003.html.
[18]	ITU (International Telecommunication Union), 2006. ICT Development Report 2006: Digital Divide Narrowing? Geneva: ITU Printed, Switzerland.
[19]	ITU (International Telecommunication Union), 2009. Measuring the Information Society 2009. Geneva: ITU Printed, Switzerland.
[20]	ITU (International Telecommunication Union), 2011. Measuring the Information Society 2011. Geneva: ITU Printed, Switzerland.
[21]	Kim S, 2004. Social Informatization: Its Measurement, Causes and Consequences. San Francisco: American Sociological Association.
[22]	Kitchin R, 1998. Towards geographies of cyberspace. Progress in Human Geography, 22(3): 385-406. doi: 10.1191/0309132986 68331585
[23]	Lenhart A, 2003. The Ever-Shifting Internet Population: A New Look at Internet Access and the Digital Divide. Available at: http://www.pewInternet.org/pdf
[24]	Liu W, 2002. Development of the Internet in China and Its Spatial Characteristics. In: Hayter R et al. (eds.). Knowledge, Territory and Industrial Space. Hampshire, UK: Ashgate, 87-106.
[25]	Liu W D, Dicken P, Yeung H, 2004. New information and communication technologies and local clustering of firms: A case study of the Xingwang industrial park in Beijing. Urban Geography, 25(4): 412-428. doi: 10.2747/0272-3638.25.4.390
[26]	Liu Guifang, 2006. Spatio-temporal analysis of regional Internet development in China. Progress in Geography, 25(4): 109- 118. (in Chinese)
[27]	Liu Wenxin, Zhang Pingyu, 2003. Analysis on the regional differential of the Internet diffusion in China. Scientia Geographica Sinica, 23(4): 399-408. (in Chinese)
[28]	Lu Heli, Liu Guifang, 2005. Research on geographic distribution of cyberspace. Scientia Geographica Sinica, 25(3): 317-321. (in Chinese)
[29]	Lu Zi, Shi Fang, Wang Ran, et al., 2008. Comparison of realistic geo-space and virtual cyberspace in China. Scientia Geographica Sinica, 28(5): 601-606. (in Chinese)
[30]	Martin P, 2003. Is the digital divide really closing? A critique of inequality measurment in a nation online. IT & Society, 1(4): 1-13. doi: 10.1186/1758-26521215-5
[31]	Moss M, Townsend A, 2000. The Internet backbone and the American metropolies. The Information Society Journal, 16(1): 35-47. doi: 10.1011/1186- 2652-12-15
[32]	NBSC (National Bureau of Statistics of China), 2001-2011. China Statistical Yearbook. Beijing: China Statistics Press. (in Chinese)
[33]	NBSC (National Bureau of Statistics of China), 2001-2011. Provincial Statistical Yearbook. Beijing: China Statistics Press. (in Chinese)
[34]	NBSC (National Bureau of Statistics of China), 2005. Evaluation Report on the Informatization Level in China. Beijing: China Statistics Press. (in Chinese)
[35]	Ning Jinting, Qiu Juan, Wang Mingfeng, 2010. Regional differences and dynamic evolution of Internet industry development in China, 2000-2009. World Regional Studies, 19(4): 58-64. (in Chinese)
[36]	Norris P, 2001. The Digital Divide: Civic Engagement, Information Poverty & the Internet Worldwide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, UK.
[37]	Nunzia C, 2005. Information and communication technology and geographical clusters: Opportunities and spread. Technovation, 25: 213-222. doi: 10.1016/S0166-4972(03)00095-6
[38]	OECD, 2008. OECD Report. Available at: http://www.oecd.org/Internet/broadbandandtelecom/oecdkeyictindicators.
[39]	Saaty T L, Vargas L G, 2000. Models, Methods, Concepts and Applications of the Analytic Hierarcy Process. Massachusertts: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
[40]	Shen Lizhen, Zhang Ming, Zhen Feng, 2010. An overview of space and the development of its research with the influence of information technology. Human Geography, 2(112): 20-23. (in Chinese)
[41]	Sohn J, Kim T, Hewings G, 2002. Information technology impacts on urban spatial structure in the Chicago region. Geographical Analysis, 34: 313-29. doi: 10.1111/j.1538-4632.2002.tb01092.x
[42]	Song Zhouying, Ding Jinaghui, Liu Weidong et al., 2009. Spatial implication of new information and communication technologies on small and medium-sized enterprises: A case study of clothing industry. Acta Geographica Sinica, 64(4): 435-444. (in Chinese)
[43]	Song Z Y, Liu W D, 2013. The challenge of wide application of new information and communication technologies to traditional location theory. Journal of Geographic Science, 23(2): 315-330. doi: 10.1007/s11442-013-1012-z
[44]	State Information Center, 2001-2011. China Information Almanac. Beijing: China Statistics Press. (in Chinese)
[45]	Taylor R, Zhang B, 2007. Measuring the impact of ICT: theories of information and development. Telecommunications Pocily Research Conference, Washington, DC.
[46]	Townsend A, 2001. The Internet and the rise of the new network cities. Environment and Planning B, 28(1): 39-58. doi: 10.1068b/3344-2839
[47]	Wang Mingfeng, Ning Yueming, 2004. The Internet and the rise of information network cities in China. Acta Geographic Sinica, 59(3): 446-454. (in Chinese)
[48]	Wang Mingfeng, Qiu Juan, 2011. Convergence analysis of the provincial growth of Internet users in China. Scientia Geographica Sinica, 31(1): 42-48. (in Chinese)
[49]	Warschauer M, 2002. Reconceptualizing the digital divide. First Monday, 7(7): 12-15. doi: 10.1177/146144807715
[50]	Wilbanks T, 2004. Geography and technology. In: Brumn S D et al. (eds). Geography and Technology. Netherlands: Klumer Academic Publishers.
[51]	Wolcott P, Press L, McHenry W et al., 2001. A framework for assessing the global diffusion of the Internet. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 2(6): 1-42. doi: 10.1536/9323-993-0126
[52]	Zhen Feng, Gu Chaolin, 2002. New perspectives on spatial structure research in information era. Geographical Research, 21(2): 257-266. (in Chinese)

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通讯作者: 陈斌, bchen63@163.com

1.
沈阳化工大学材料科学与工程学院沈阳 110142

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Measuring Spatial Differences of Informatization in China

1. Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China;

2. School of Global Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QN, UK

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

Corresponding author: SONG Zhouying. E-mail: songzy@igsnrr.ac.cn

Received Date: 2013-02-28

Rev Recd Date: 2013-06-25

Publish Date: 2014-09-27

Key words:

informatization /
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) Development Index (IDI) /
spatial difference /
digital divide

Abstract: 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.

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Reference (52)

[1]	Abramson B, 2000. Internet globalization indicators. Telecommunications Policy, 24: 69-74. doi: 10.1016/S0308-5961(99) 00072-5
[2]	Bell P, Reddy P, Rainie L, 2004. Rural areas and the Internet. Pew Internet & American Life, 17(2): 32-39. doi: 10.1007/s11606- 008-0899-z
[3]	Bridges.org, 2003. Spanning the Digital Divide: Understanding and Tackling the Issues. Available at: http://www.bridges.org/spanning/download.html
[4]	Castells M, 2010. The Rise of the Network Society (2nd edition). London: John Wiley& Sons Publication.
[5]	CNNIC (China Internet Network Information Center), 1997- 2013. Statistical Report on Internet Development in China. Available at: http://www.cnnic.net.cn/hlwfzyj/hlwxzbg/. (in Chinese)
[6]	Chen W, Wellman B, 2003. Charting and Bridgind Digital Divides: Comparing Socio-economic, Gender, Life Stage and Rural-Urban Internet Access and Use in Eight Countries. AMD Global Consumer Advisory Board.
[7]	Cooper M, 2002. Does the Digital Divide Still Exist? Bush Administration Shrugs, But Evidence Says 'Yes'. Available at: http://www.consumerfed.org/DigitalDivideReport20020530.pdf.
[8]	Crump B, Mcllroy A, 2003. The digital divide: Why the 'don't- wants-tos' wont Compute: Lessons from a New Zealand ICT Project. First Monday, 8(12): 23-26. doi: 10.1177/146144809 354212
[9]	DiMaggio P, Hargittai E, 2001. From the 'Digital Divide' to Digital Inequality: Studying Internet Use as Penetration Increases. The United States: Working Paper of Princeton University.
[10]	Donnermeyer F J, 2003. Digital divide evidence in four rural touwns. IT & Society, 1(4): 107-117. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642- 02766-6
[11]	Dunning J, 2009. Location and the multinational enterprise: A neglected factor. Journal of International Business Studies, 40(1): 5-19. doi: 10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490024
[12]	Graham S, Marvin S, 1996. Telecommunications and the City: Electronic Spaces, Urban Places. London: Routledge.
[13]	Graham S, Marvin S, 2001. Splintering Urbanism: Networked Infrastructures, Technological Mobilities and the Urban Condition. London: Routledge.
[14]	Hargittai E, 2002. Second-level digital divide: Differences in people's online skills. First Monday, 7(4): 1-20. doi: 10.1177/036354650528191
[15]	Hoffman D, Novak T, Schlosser A, 2000. The evolution of digital divide: How gaps in Internet access may impact electronic commerce. Journal of Computer-mediated Communication, 5(3): 200-203. doi: 10.1003/3513-1-2856-g(95)04704-5
[16]	Horrigan J, Rainie L, 2004. The broadband difference. In: Pew Internet & American Life. Available at: http://www.pewInternet. org/pdfs/PIP_Broadband_Report.pdf
[17]	ITU (International Telecommunication Union), 2003. ITU Digital Access Index: World's First Global ICT Ranking. Available at: http://itu/newsarchive/press_releases/2003.html.
[18]	ITU (International Telecommunication Union), 2006. ICT Development Report 2006: Digital Divide Narrowing? Geneva: ITU Printed, Switzerland.
[19]	ITU (International Telecommunication Union), 2009. Measuring the Information Society 2009. Geneva: ITU Printed, Switzerland.
[20]	ITU (International Telecommunication Union), 2011. Measuring the Information Society 2011. Geneva: ITU Printed, Switzerland.
[21]	Kim S, 2004. Social Informatization: Its Measurement, Causes and Consequences. San Francisco: American Sociological Association.
[22]	Kitchin R, 1998. Towards geographies of cyberspace. Progress in Human Geography, 22(3): 385-406. doi: 10.1191/0309132986 68331585
[23]	Lenhart A, 2003. The Ever-Shifting Internet Population: A New Look at Internet Access and the Digital Divide. Available at: http://www.pewInternet.org/pdf
[24]	Liu W, 2002. Development of the Internet in China and Its Spatial Characteristics. In: Hayter R et al. (eds.). Knowledge, Territory and Industrial Space. Hampshire, UK: Ashgate, 87-106.
[25]	Liu W D, Dicken P, Yeung H, 2004. New information and communication technologies and local clustering of firms: A case study of the Xingwang industrial park in Beijing. Urban Geography, 25(4): 412-428. doi: 10.2747/0272-3638.25.4.390
[26]	Liu Guifang, 2006. Spatio-temporal analysis of regional Internet development in China. Progress in Geography, 25(4): 109- 118. (in Chinese)
[27]	Liu Wenxin, Zhang Pingyu, 2003. Analysis on the regional differential of the Internet diffusion in China. Scientia Geographica Sinica, 23(4): 399-408. (in Chinese)
[28]	Lu Heli, Liu Guifang, 2005. Research on geographic distribution of cyberspace. Scientia Geographica Sinica, 25(3): 317-321. (in Chinese)
[29]	Lu Zi, Shi Fang, Wang Ran, et al., 2008. Comparison of realistic geo-space and virtual cyberspace in China. Scientia Geographica Sinica, 28(5): 601-606. (in Chinese)
[30]	Martin P, 2003. Is the digital divide really closing? A critique of inequality measurment in a nation online. IT & Society, 1(4): 1-13. doi: 10.1186/1758-26521215-5
[31]	Moss M, Townsend A, 2000. The Internet backbone and the American metropolies. The Information Society Journal, 16(1): 35-47. doi: 10.1011/1186- 2652-12-15
[32]	NBSC (National Bureau of Statistics of China), 2001-2011. China Statistical Yearbook. Beijing: China Statistics Press. (in Chinese)
[33]	NBSC (National Bureau of Statistics of China), 2001-2011. Provincial Statistical Yearbook. Beijing: China Statistics Press. (in Chinese)
[34]	NBSC (National Bureau of Statistics of China), 2005. Evaluation Report on the Informatization Level in China. Beijing: China Statistics Press. (in Chinese)
[35]	Ning Jinting, Qiu Juan, Wang Mingfeng, 2010. Regional differences and dynamic evolution of Internet industry development in China, 2000-2009. World Regional Studies, 19(4): 58-64. (in Chinese)
[36]	Norris P, 2001. The Digital Divide: Civic Engagement, Information Poverty & the Internet Worldwide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, UK.
[37]	Nunzia C, 2005. Information and communication technology and geographical clusters: Opportunities and spread. Technovation, 25: 213-222. doi: 10.1016/S0166-4972(03)00095-6
[38]	OECD, 2008. OECD Report. Available at: http://www.oecd.org/Internet/broadbandandtelecom/oecdkeyictindicators.
[39]	Saaty T L, Vargas L G, 2000. Models, Methods, Concepts and Applications of the Analytic Hierarcy Process. Massachusertts: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
[40]	Shen Lizhen, Zhang Ming, Zhen Feng, 2010. An overview of space and the development of its research with the influence of information technology. Human Geography, 2(112): 20-23. (in Chinese)
[41]	Sohn J, Kim T, Hewings G, 2002. Information technology impacts on urban spatial structure in the Chicago region. Geographical Analysis, 34: 313-29. doi: 10.1111/j.1538-4632.2002.tb01092.x
[42]	Song Zhouying, Ding Jinaghui, Liu Weidong et al., 2009. Spatial implication of new information and communication technologies on small and medium-sized enterprises: A case study of clothing industry. Acta Geographica Sinica, 64(4): 435-444. (in Chinese)
[43]	Song Z Y, Liu W D, 2013. The challenge of wide application of new information and communication technologies to traditional location theory. Journal of Geographic Science, 23(2): 315-330. doi: 10.1007/s11442-013-1012-z
[44]	State Information Center, 2001-2011. China Information Almanac. Beijing: China Statistics Press. (in Chinese)
[45]	Taylor R, Zhang B, 2007. Measuring the impact of ICT: theories of information and development. Telecommunications Pocily Research Conference, Washington, DC.
[46]	Townsend A, 2001. The Internet and the rise of the new network cities. Environment and Planning B, 28(1): 39-58. doi: 10.1068b/3344-2839
[47]	Wang Mingfeng, Ning Yueming, 2004. The Internet and the rise of information network cities in China. Acta Geographic Sinica, 59(3): 446-454. (in Chinese)
[48]	Wang Mingfeng, Qiu Juan, 2011. Convergence analysis of the provincial growth of Internet users in China. Scientia Geographica Sinica, 31(1): 42-48. (in Chinese)
[49]	Warschauer M, 2002. Reconceptualizing the digital divide. First Monday, 7(7): 12-15. doi: 10.1177/146144807715
[50]	Wilbanks T, 2004. Geography and technology. In: Brumn S D et al. (eds). Geography and Technology. Netherlands: Klumer Academic Publishers.
[51]	Wolcott P, Press L, McHenry W et al., 2001. A framework for assessing the global diffusion of the Internet. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 2(6): 1-42. doi: 10.1536/9323-993-0126
[52]	Zhen Feng, Gu Chaolin, 2002. New perspectives on spatial structure research in information era. Geographical Research, 21(2): 257-266. (in Chinese)

Measuring Spatial Differences of Informatization in China

doi: 10.1007/s11769-013-0646-1

Abstract

References

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通讯作者: 陈斌, bchen63@163.com

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