Hi all, I am Giacomo Zanello and currently I am a PhD candidate in Agricultural Economics at the University of Reading (UK). My research focus is on the impacts of ICTs on transaction costs amongs smallholders in the Northern Ghana. Looking forward to learning from the discussion and where I can giving my contribution!

I agree with Carl regarding the difficulties of doing impact evaluations for small/pilot projects. But unfortunately I am afraid anecdotes are not enough. Donors or Governments want data and prove that investments are somehow effective and productive. But then question is: what are good indicators for the evaluation of the impact of ICTs in rural areas? Then, which impact - economical, social - we want to consider?

Anna Maria - You are right when you say that technologies are not neutral. I add that the uses of ICTs are not always predictable ex-ante. I am referring for instance at the m-banking: it was unpredicted. For that reason it is important study their impacts. I focused my attention more in the economical aspects because I am more closed to it and also because I think there is a lack of knowledge in that field.

Michael - The question is very interesting and important because in my opinion there are not so many quantitative studies of the effects of ICTs in rural areas. Even less are the studies focused on micro-level. Study cases and qualitative analyses are common to find, quantitative analyses not (yet?). In my opinion the main reasons of lack of evidences are that ICTs is a recent issue and historical data is not available, ICTs can influence many aspects depending on the use of technologies (consumptions, productions, free time, employment, …), the data is difficult to get and the economic models must consider several variables that can be influenced by the use of ICTs. The analytical evidence of the effects of ICTs in rural areas is fundamental for address policies and investments. Until we cannot quantify the effect of ICTs it will be difficult change policies and mitigate the negative impacts. I am doing researches on the evaluation of economic impact of the use of ICTs using household models, so I am very interested on this area and looking forward to hearing your thought. [url=http://www.e-agriculture.org/550.html?&no_cache=1&view=single_thread&ca…] Giacomo[/url]