Socio Economic Influence on Information Technology: The Case of California

Abstract

This chapter examines the influence of socio-economic factors on the employment, payroll, and number of enterprises of three technology sectors for counties in California. Based on correlation and regression analyses, the results reveal that factors that are important correlates of technology sectors are professional/scientific/technical services, other services, and educational services, ethnicity, and college education. As a whole, the findings emphasize the importance of the association of socio economic factors with the per capita magnitude of the technology sectors. This chapter suggests steps that can be taken by the state of California and its county and local governments to foster technology and reduce the digital divide.