Needed—A Global Approach to Data in the Digital Age
Global principles on data policy can help level the playing field while addressing financial stability and inclusion, competition, and privacy.
The Haves and Have-nots Of the Digital Age
By Gita Bhatt
Accelerated by the pandemic, the digital future is coming at us faster than ever before, and maybe faster than we can imagine. In this issue of Finance & Development magazine, we explore the possible consequences—the good, the bad, and the gray. […]
Charting a Path for a Resilient Recovery in Sub Saharan Africa
By Kristalina Georgieva and Abebe Aemro Selassie
عربي, 中文, Español, Français, 日本語, Português, Русский
Perhaps first among the many lessons of 2020 is that the notion of so‑called black swan events is not some remote worry. These purportedly once‑in‑a‑generation events are occurring with increasing frequency.
The Digital Accelerator: Revving Up Government in Asia
By Vitor Gaspar and Chang Yong Rhee
September 26, 2018
عربي, 中文, Español, 日本語, Português, Русский,
A driver from the Malaysian ride-hailing tech startup, Grab, picks up a passenger in Jakarta, Indonesia: digitalization is transforming Asia’s businesses and governments (photo: Afif C. Kasuma/iStock by Getty Images)
Asia’s digital revolution shows no signs of slowing down. From e-commerce giants like China’s Alibaba and Japan’s Rakuten, to ride-hailing, and digital payment tech startups, like Indonesia’s Go-Jek and India’s Paytm, and the widespread use of industrial robots for manufacturing, digitalization is changing the way the region’s businesses operate. […]
Chart of the Week: The Digital Divide in Asia
By IMFBlog
September 25, 2018
Young people on their phones in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia: about 70 percent of the country does not have internet access and can’t participate in the digital economy (Samrang Pring/Reuters/Newscom)
The countries of Southeast Asia are young—more than half of its 643 million people are under 30— and together they live in an economy of $2.8 trillion. […]
Welcome to e-Estonia: Where Virtual Residents Outnumber Newborns
By IMFBlog
September 14, 2018
Skype headquarters, Tallinn, Estonia: Skype was created in Estonia in 2003 (ebolyukh/iStock by Getty Images)
Estonians jokingly refer to themselves as e-Estonians, says Siim Sikkut, Estonia’s Chief Information Officer. But if ever a nickname were spot on, this might be it. […]
Addressing the Dark Side of the Crypto World
March 13, 2018
Versions in عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Français (French), baˈhasa indoneˈsia (Indonesian), 日本語 (Japanese), Português (Portuguese), Русский (Russian)
The same reason crypto-assets like Bitcoin are so appealing is also what makes them dangerous (iStock by GettyImages).
Whether Bitcoin’s value goes up or Bitcoin’s value goes down, people around the world are asking the same question: What exactly is the potential of crypto-assets?
The technology behind these assets—including blockchain—is an exciting advancement that could help revolutionize fields beyond finance. It could, for example, power financial inclusion by providing new, low-cost payment methods to those who lack bank accounts and in the process empower millions in low-income countries. […]
A Digital-Savvy Indonesia
By Tidiane Kinda and Ting Yan
February 22, 2018
Version in 中文 (Chinese), baˈhasa indoneˈsia (Indonesian)
A salesperson shows a customer the latest smartphones in a showroom in Jakarta, Indonesia: the use of mobile internet services continues to grow rapidly in the country (photo: Beawhiharta/Reuters/ /Newscom).
With the third largest youth population in the world and 130 million active social media users, Indonesia is poised to become the biggest digital economy country in Southeast Asia. To fully embrace the digital opportunity, Indonesia must enhance its infrastructure and increase internet penetration to lift economic growth and productivity.
According to a McKinsey report, digitization could expand Indonesia’s economy by 10 percent of GDP and add 3.7 million jobs by 2025. […]
GDP: Falling Short
December 22, 2017
Economist Diane Coyle speaking at the IMF Statistical Forum on Measuring the Digital Economy (photo: IMF)
Gross domestic product, or GDP, has been used to measure growth since the Second World War when economies were all about mass production and manufacturing. In this podcast, economist Diane Coyle, says GDP is less well suited to measure progress in today’s digital economy. […]
Have Data—Will Travel
By iMFdirect
Author and innovation guru, Alec Ross says that technology is shaping the industries of the future.
“Ninety percent of the world’s data has been produced in the last two years. In fact, if you take the sum of all the information produced by human kind—from paintings on cave walls—to the year 2003, the sum of that data we now produce every two days.” […]