Ethnic Digital Exclusion in Brazil: National and Regional Data from 2001 to 2004

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of computer ownership and Internet access in Brazil from 2001 to 2004. Using a linear regression model to relate income and the probability of computer ownership and home Internet access, we show that African descents are 7% less likely to own a computer and 5% less likely to have home Internet access than are families of other ethnicities with the same total family income per capita. Likewise, if an African-descent family already owns a computer, there is still a 7% less probability of that family having Internet access from home. These gaps are reduced, but do not disappear when one adds education level or the presence of a child at home in the analysis. Regional differences for the 2004 data show that whether African descents make up the majority of the population is not statistically significant as a factor to explain the gap differences.