Gran Bretaña

The process of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) diffusion today is one of the major determinants of a country’s economic growth and development. A greater understanding of the factors driving this is therefore critical in developing countries. Whilst the literature presents a range of potential factors that explain the difference in diffusion rates across countries, it is the relative level of economic development in one country compared with another that is cited most frequently. This would suggest that the diffusion of the telegraph and the telephone in Argentina should have been decidedly faster than in Mexico, given the former’s significant inherent economic advantage throughout the period. This was not found to be the case. Instead, Argentina underperformed while Mexico outperformed, giving rise to an interesting historical episode which I dub the ‘Double Paradox’.