Digital Economy in the Developing World Implications on Policy and Practice

Abstract

The article explores and examines policy and practice in the digital economy in the developing world. It analyses the policies put in place in the global and regional context in relation to the digital economy, their viability and success, while drawing lessons for Zimbabwe. The background to the subject under discussion is the increased importance of the digital economy which rough estimates place its value at around 5% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), contributing about 3% to global employment. The article is based on a desktop study involving interrogation of literature and documents mined from Google Scholar and other websites with news and/or information on policies, statutes and other related materials on the subject matter. For data analysis, the study engaged mainly textual analysis. Key observations from the study were the undeniable increase in the importance of digitalisation due to adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, among other factors; the need to formulate policies that perpetuate the smooth running of the digital economy which will enable it to be beneficial to all, as well as to hammer and fully implement the prevailing ones and getting rid of all hindrances to the desired outcome. The study also noted that there is limited knowledge on the digital economy in some developing countries, like Zimbabwe, for instance. To establish and maximise the benefits of digitalisation, the article recommends that there should be increased knowledge on the issue at hand and, there should be policy instruments set up to spearhead and speed up the whole digital economy process with high levels of transparency and governance.