Analysis of the Effects of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on the Economic Development of Rural Areas of Mazinan with Emphasis on Business Development

Today, information and communication technology has grown widely among different countries, and this technology needs to be implemented and efficiently used to capture the benefits of information and communication technology. On the other hand, countries face this threat, if they do not identify the growing digital divide within the country or between their countries and other countries, they will suffer from backwardness. In this research, we study and analyze the effects of ICT on economic development of rural areas of Mazinan with emphasis on business development. The data collection method was library and field studies and then 319 households through using the Cochran formula were selected as the sample size for studies related to the number of households living in the villages. To examine the impact of information technology, a series of indicators were considered in the economic dimension. T-test and Spearman test were used to analyze the collected data through questionnaires. The results of the research confirm that there is a significant relationship between ICT and economic development in Mazinan rural district, and IT has had the greatest impact on increasing job opportunities. Also, according to the research findings, the "new job skills learning" and "computer-driven employment prevalence" indicators were the highest with a mean score of 2.49. The "empowerment of the rural poor" indicators with a mean of 1.83 and "avoidance of handicraft producer's migration" with an average of 1.91 points were the lowest.