The Rural-Urban 'Digital Divide' in New Zealand: Fact or Fable?
Summary. This study analyzes New Zealand business data to measure the rural-urban digital divide in email and website adoption. Contrary to expectations, provincial and remote areas show higher email uptake than urban centers. The findings suggest that higher communication costs in rural areas actually incentivize earlier technology adoption, and that firm size, local economic conditions, and product type matter more than infrastructure quality or location for website investment decisions.
Cite this article
Howell, B.. (2001). The Rural-Urban 'Digital Divide' in New Zealand: Fact or Fable?. Prometheus. https://doi.org/10.1080/08109020110072207
Howell, Bronwyn. “The Rural-Urban 'Digital Divide' in New Zealand: Fact or Fable?.” Prometheus, 2001. https://doi.org/10.1080/08109020110072207.
Howell, Bronwyn. 2001. “The Rural-Urban 'Digital Divide' in New Zealand: Fact or Fable?.” Prometheus. https://doi.org/10.1080/08109020110072207.
@article{howell-2001-rural-urban-digital-divide-new,
title = {The Rural-Urban 'Digital Divide' in New Zealand: Fact or Fable?},
author = {Bronwyn Howell},
journal = {Prometheus},
year = {2001},
doi = {10.1080/08109020110072207},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1080/08109020110072207}
}
TY - JOUR TI - The Rural-Urban 'Digital Divide' in New Zealand: Fact or Fable? AU - Bronwyn Howell JO - Prometheus PY - 2001 DO - 10.1080/08109020110072207 UR - https://doi.org/10.1080/08109020110072207 ER -
Details
- DOI
- 10.1080/08109020110072207
- Countries
- New Zealand
- Regions
- Oceania
- Categories
- broadband-and-digital, rural-data-and-definitions
- Added
- 2026-04-28