Governing a Globalised Digital Economy: How to Make Technology Policy and Regulation Work for Developing Countries

Harnessing the economic opportunities of digital technologies often requires changes in policy and regulation. Domestic regulation and policymaking alone are unable to deal with the multilevel interactions that take place in the governance of digital technologies. In an era of unprecedented levels of interdependence, measures that regulate the global digital economy at the regional and at the international levels are fundamentally important. Despite the growing need for international cooperation in technology policymaking, global governance is falling short of their tasks. In particular, multilateral institutions and formal mechanisms of coordination are not representative of the interests and policy priorities of low- and middle-income countries. Drawing on the findings of a recent study, this essay seeks to understand the relative importance of international coordination in technology policy in developing countries. In doing so, it addresses how low- and middle-income countries can design and adopt much-needed digital regulation while rethinking the international dynamics that shape domestic and cross-border technology policymaking.

Policy Recommendations

• Review of the current multilateral fora where digital regulation is being discussed to understand how current processes are serving – or not serving – the interests of different countries.
• Reform international rule-making bodies to ensure geographical and political representation, including developing countries with different policy priorities in the decision-making process.
• Foster regional cooperation and collaboration between nations with similar technology policy priorities, forging coalitions of like-minded countries, which are more likely to serve the interests of developing countries.

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