The importance of personal computers in developing countries: Case study of Peru

Summary form only given: Personal computers have become an important part of society with people depending on them for activities from business to entertainment or education. Access to technology, especially to personal computers (PCs), has shifted from privilege to necessity in many parts of the world. Is in this context residential PC ownership has increased dramatically in recent years both in developed and developing countries. This technology adoption trend in developing countries opens the market not only for new PCs but also for used machines. Globally the main supply of used PCs is developed countries. The purpose of this study is to understand the importance of computers, new and used, as well as post-consumer management options in the residential sector in developing countries using Peru´s capital Lima as a case study. Part of this study aims to understand how the growth of secondary markets for PCs satisfies demand of computer services in the residential sector. We also intend to predict the penetration rate of used computers in Lima´s residential sector.