- Leapfrogging
Leapfrogging is a theory of development in which
developing countries may accelerate development by skipping inferior, less efficient, more expensive or more polluting technologies and industries and move directly to more advanced ones.An aim of leapfrogging technologies is to promote greater access to resources and other technologies, to those people who would normally not have access.
There are a few ways that leapfrogging can occur, some of which are accidentally (such as when the only systems around for adoption are better than legacy systems elsewhere), situationally (such as the adoption of
decentralized communication for a sprawling, rural countryside), or intentionally (such as policies promoting the installation ofWiFi and free computers in poor urban areas). [Cascio, J. [http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/001743.html "Leapfrog 101"] WorldChanging, December 15, 2004.]A frequently cited example is countries which move directly from having no
telephone s to havingcellular phone s, skipping the stage oflandline telephones altogether.Another example is "ecological" leapfrogging, where countries do not repeat the mistakes of highly industrialized countries in creating an energy infrastructure based on fossil fuels, but "jump" directly into theSolar Age . [http://www.wupperinst.org/globalisation/html/leap.html [http://www.wupperinst.org/ Wuppertal Institute] on Leapfrogging]ee also
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Developing Countries
*Developed countries
*Legacy systems
*Digital divide References
External links
* [http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/001743.html World Changing: Another World Is Here]
* [http://blog.lib.umn.edu/thay0012/leapfrog/ ICTs and Leapfrogging Development]
* [http://wiki.media-culture.org.au/index.php/Digital_Divide_-_Leapfrogging Digital Divide - Leapfrogging]
* [http://rru.worldbank.org/Documents/PublicPolicyJournal/254Kojim-022103.pdf Leapfrogging Technology]
* [http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2004/04/63131?currentPage=all Seeking Riches From the Poor]
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