Summary

This timely and important book illuminates the impact of cyber law on the growth and development of emerging and developing economies. Using a strong theoretical framework firmly grounded in resource-based and technology diffusion literature, the authors convey a subtle understanding of the ways public and private sector entities in developing and emerging countries adopt cyber space processes.This book reveals that the diffusion of cyber activities in developing and emerging economies is relatively low, with the main stumbling blocks resting in regulatory, cultural, and social factors. The authors argue that cyber crimes constitute a prime obstacle to the diffusion of e-commence and e-governments in developing economies, and governments have an important role in developing control mechanisms in the form of laws. However, setting appropriate policies and complementary services, particularly those affecting the telecommunications sector and other infrastructure, human capital and the investment environment, severely constrains Internet access. Using both strategic and operational perspectives, the authors discuss the concrete experience of constructing and implementing cyber laws and cyber security measures in developing and emerging countries, and analyse their content and appropriateness. Professionals, academics, students, and policymakers working in the area of cyber space, e-commerce and economic development, and United Nations entities working closely with the Millennium Development Goals, will find this book an invaluable reference.