An assessment of the economic morality of digital communication technologies in the US and Ghana

Abstract

Digital communication technologies play important roles in modern communication, and this study explores the concept of “economic morality” in the digital communication systems of two economically disparate jurisdictions: the US and Ghana. Secondary data was obtained to study trends in the digital communication systems in the media industries of the two countries and also in the health, agriculture and finance sectors. The study shows that moral economy of digital communication technologies in Ghana is not poor as one may have expected considering the country’s level of development although the USA demonstrates more “morality” or equity than the Ghanaian example. The study also notes that globalisation introduces a ‘pull factor’ that may draw under-developed countries such as Ghana into a digital environment at a cost that can be prohibitive.