Infrastructural Challenges in Developing an Information Economy in Humboldt County, California

According to the United States Census Bureau, California’s Humboldt County had a per capita income of US$17,203, with 19.5 per cent of the population living below the poverty line, while the per capita income of California State was US$22,711 in 1999. Humboldt County has since deployed economic development initiatives, which includes the development of an information economy. However, these are still in their initial stages, and there has been little evidence of success so far. Adapting Trauth’s (2000) research framework and drawing parallels from the development of Ireland’s information economy, we conducted face-to-face interviews in the summer of 2003 in Humboldt County, to analyze the relevant technological and human infrastructural challenges. The research leads to two policy recommendations to help the County develop better strategies for developing the information economy.

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