41 Social Science Computer Review Volume 27 Number 1 February 2009 41-58 © 2009 Sage Publications 10.1177/0894439308321628 http://ssc.sagepub.com hosted at http://online.sagepub.com The Role of Income Inequality in a Multivariate Cross-National Analysis of the Digital Divide Christian Fuchs University of Salzburg, Austria This article is subject to the following research question: Is the role of income inequality in com- parison to other factors an element that influences the digital divide? Eleven variables providing data on 126 countries are analyzed using multivariate regression to identify which of them influ- ence Internet usage to what extent. The used data on 126 countries refer to the year 2005. The results show that income inequality measured by the Gini coefficient is an important influencing factor besides per capita income, the degree of urbanization, and the level of democratization. The results question reductionistic digital divide approaches that analyze information inequality via focusing on a single variable (such as technology or markets). Access to ICTs is shaped by the interaction of socioeconomic, political, cultural, social, and technological factors. These results cast doubt on technological determinism, economic reductionism, and linear trend projec- tion in the digital divide debate. Digital divide causes are complex. Keywords: digital divide; social inequality; multivariate regression analysis; social theory; international comparative assessment; global data; mathematical modeling; social policy T he goal of the study at hand is to discuss and test the role of social inequality in the digital divide in comparison to other variables. It will be assessed which variables have the most important effects on the digital divide and which role social inequality plays in this respect. As a method multivariate regression analysis is used. The analysis is based on data (11 variables addressing economic, social, political, and cultural issues) on 126 countries collected in 2005. The potential result of the research could be one of the following options: • Social inequality has no significant influence on the level of the digital divide, other vari- ables are exclusively determinant. • Social inequality is one of several factors that influence the level of the digital divide in complex ways. • Social inequality is the only important factor with significant effects on the digital divide. First, a short overview of the concept of social inequality is given (Section 1). Then, a connection to the notion of the digital divide is established (Section 2). Next, the applied method for studying the influence of social inequality on the global digital divide is explained Author’s Note: Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Christian Fuchs, ICT&S Center, University of Salzburg, Sigmund Haffner Gasse 18, Salzburg A-5020, Austria; e-mail: christian. fuchs@sbg.ac.at.