Factors influencing information delivery technology choice in deprived regions in Ghana

Abstract

Using a contingent valuation (CV) method to quantitatively estimate the influence of selected socio-economic factors on households’ willingness to pay for alternative information delivery technologies, the study intended to provide basic information regarding rural households’ willingness to pay for information delivery technologies. This study used rural household survey data collected from three administrative regions in Ghana to examine rural women’s willingness to pay for information delivered via three technologies – community radio, private radio, and extension agents. The primary objective of the study was to identify the critical factors to consider in planning and policy design in using ICT to provide information to empower rural women. While there were nontrivial regional variations, the overall results from this study point to household expenditures (used as proxy for income), household education, and membership in community organizations as the principal factors influencing rural women’s willingness to pay for the various technologies used in information delivery to women in rural areas in Ghana. The overriding conclusion that emerged from this study was the need to examine ICT use in empowering rural women within a ‘holistic’ context.