PV Gap

Billy Said:

Why aren't certain electronic items more readily availiable in variety in certain countries?

We Answered:

My guess is it is just economies of scale--most technologies take time to become cheap in poorer countries after they have already become cheap in developed countries (although I wouldn't say solar power is cheap even here in the US.)

I'm not too sure why this is, but it could be that any new technology, when it is first introduced, is expensive. But as more and more is made, the price falls; it could just be simply that the owners of the new technology choose to first sell the technology in the wealthier nations, since obviously they will make more money here. They put most of their units into these markets, and as a result there are relatively few of them in the poorer nations.

Over time, technologies such as solar will be introduced more and more into the poorer nations, and the price there will fall. But since these places are usually the "second choice" of the sellers, there is a lag time of a few years.