Mendoza, Katrina

11123524

People predispose to undervalue the change technology can bring in developing countries. Though n!or"ation and #o""unications Technologies $ #Ts% are not able to cure in!ectious diseases such as & '( or "alaria, it can indirectly alleviate poverty by "eans o! i"proving "ar)et outputs and reducing ine!!iciencies in such. These clai"s *ere strengthened through our report on the role o! technology in least developed countries speci!ically, *e discussed t*o articles that sho*ed $1% ho* "obile phones triggered a si"ultaneous increase in *el!are and decline in *aste and price dispersion+ and $2% ho* this !or" o! technology *as able to open an alternative to ban)ing and at the sa"e ti"e, easier process o! accessing and trans!erring "oney. ,rie!ly, in -obert .ensen/s The 'igital Provide $2001%, he investigated the signi!icance o! "obile phones, through solving the con!lict in price in!or"ation, !or the !isher"an and *holesalers in Kerala, ndia. Though such device has been observed to have i"pacted "acroecono"ic gro*th, not "uch "icrolevel proo!s have e2isted. n this article, ho*ever, he *as able to in!er the spread o! #Ts bet*een the developed and developing countries+ and sho* the i"prove"ent in the Kerala/s "ar)et course and *el!are. 3ro" this, understood that even though it "ay see" i"practical !or poor countries to invest on technology, only actual evidences can attest to its *orth. This study conducted *as *ell4thought yet too ris)y to i"ple"ent $due to costs and long duration that "ight result to irregularities in data%, but in the end, paid o!!. (ince this access to in!or"ation through phones have proven success in increasing *el!are, *hy not countries that have populations using "obile phones i""ensely, na"ely, the Philippines, use this to its advantage5 6ven *ith a di!!erent set o! issue, the grave aid phones bring "ust put to use by 3ilipinos, not only in achieving e!!iciency but also in di!!erent aspects o! easing econo"ic !ailure. &nother article assigned to us *as 7The Po*er o! Mobile Money/ ta)en !ro" The 6cono"ist. &li)e to the earlier discussed 8ournal, this also !ocused on ho* "obile phones can be o! great help to poor people in poor countries. Though at !irst, this !or" o! procedure appeared to be co"ple2 and is also perceived as a threat by ban)s, it has been proven to be success!ul and even an opportunity !or ban)s to e2pand, particularly in Kenya. n the Philippines, though a" !a"iliar *ith its versions o! "obile "oney $i.e. 9lobe 9#ash and ("art Money%, *as not

a*are o! its value and ho* it *or)s. -eading through, it is indeed logical to advertise "obile "oney !or its advantages, and disregard the ongoing battle bet*een to co"peting net*or)s. t "ay not be as success!ul as *ith Kenya, but it is *orth a try. Technology has been upheld to be a bene!icial tool in achieving e!!iciency, increasing accessibility, and i"proving "ar)et outputs. (ince its dra*bac)s are usually pointed out by "any, its part in develop"ent is at ti"es disregarded. n the end, people "ust )no* that balancing the role o! technology can be one o! the solutions that *e can lean on to. Through !ocusing on both econo"ic and social aspects o! technology, then *e can devise a good conclusion.