Essays on Internet Governance

Expecting tremendous social and economic implications of digital platforms and infrastructures, firms and governments across the world are making huge investments in creating and maintaining these infrastructures, health information systems and the Internet being the two striking examples. However, with growth, concerns related to their standardization, control and governance become significant. The Internet is a global information infrastructure [5] and to restrict its unintended consequences, positive steps towards its design and governance is being sought by researchers [6] and practitioners alike. I study three different aspects of Internet governance. The three questions that I analyze in my dissertation are: (1) What country level factors (institutional quality) impact a nation’s choice of Internet governance structure and what is the role of Internet affordances in the relationship?; (2) How does the proportion of Internet-deprived population (i.e. the extent of digital divide) affect the impact which zero-rating plans can have on an economy?; (3) Critically analyzing the current discourse on net neutrality and questioning the assumptions on which it is defined currently.