different (Figure 3). Some authors have suggested that raising ICT penetration has greater benefi cial growth impact for developed countries, given their more service-oriented economies and educated workforce ready to make intensive use of ICTs. However, other authors contend that ICTs could have a greater growth impact in developing countries, once critical network penetration is achieved e.g. World Bank (2009) - see right chart, Figure 3. However, most of this research is based in more ‘ordinary’ economic times. It is not clear whether investments in ICTs in recessionary times have the same impact on growth, no matter how large-scale these investments may be - some commentators agree that economic multipliers for government stimulus investments are likely to be lower during a recession.29 Nevertheless, on the basis of strong economic returns to investment, many stimulus plans have prioritized in-vestments in modern communication infrastructure to support the roll-out of new services and generate jobs. Figure 3 The Growth Impact of Information Infrastructure Telecoms Sector Telecoms Sector Advanced Given GDP per Underdeveloped Given Broadband Capita 1.5 GDP per Capita 3 GNP per Capita Growth Rate Internet 1.38 GDP percentage points 1.21 1.0 Mobile 2 1.12 Fixed Countries with developed information infrastructure 0.81 2.6% 0.77 0.73 0.5 Countries with less developed information infrastructure 1 1.9% 0.60 0.43 0 0 low- and middle-income high-income economies economies Source: Left chart - GICT MNA Working Paper (2003); right chart - Qiang (2009) and “Information and Communication for Development Report 2009”, World Bank (2009). 26 Confronting the Crisis: ICT Stimulus Plans for Economic Growth