Welfare Reform on the Web (March 2002): Community Regeneration and Development - Overseas

THE END OF SOCIAL EXCLUSION? ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POLICY AS A KEY TO SOCIAL INCLUSION IN LARGE EUROPEAN CITIES

W. van Winden

Regional Studies, vol. 35, 2001, p. 861-877

Policy makers at European, national and local levels believe that ICT policy can help reduce social exclusion. They suggest that it can:

• strengthen social networks through the creation of virtual communities;
• improve participation in decision-making and political processes;
• strengthen people's position in the labour market. However little evidence has been found of the beneficial contribution of ICT in these three fields.