Information technology and e-commerce
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Introduction
Over the last few decades, the internet has entered every corner of our lives, from social interactions to entertainment and work, and has fundamentally reshaped our economies, slashing the cost of acquiring and trading information. It has fuelled the digital revolution, fundamentally changing the ways in which we communicate, consume and produce, and it has profoundly transformed international trade, in terms of what we trade, how we trade, and who is trading.
The economics of how digital technologies impact trade
This section focuses on how new technologies are transforming international trade, creating new opportunities for a more inclusive trading system and raising new challenges. The section opens with a discussion of how digital technologies affect international trade costs. This is followed by an assessment of how digital technologies change the nature of what is traded, how we trade and who trades what. Finally, the potential impact of important trends in technological development is quantified and long-term projections on international trade are made, using the WTO Global Trade Model.
Understanding Supply Chain 4.0 and its potential impact on global value chains
The reorganization of supply chains using advanced technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics, and autonomous robotics, is transforming the model of supply chain management from a linear one, in which instructions flow from supplier to producer to distributor to consumer, and back, to a more integrated model in which information flows in an omnidirectional manner to the supply chain. While e-commerce is uniquely suited to many of these techniques, they also hold the promise of improving efficiency in brick-and-mortar stores. These technologies are generating enormous benefits through reducing costs, making production more responsive to consumer demand, boosting employment (employment in supply chain sectors where such technologies are most likely to be applied has grown much more rapidly than in other supply chain sectors and in the economy as a whole) and saving consumers’ time. The impact of these technologies on the length of supply chains is uncertain: they may reduce the length of supply chains by encouraging the reshoring of manufacturing production to high-income economies, thus reducing opportunities for developing countries to participate in GVCs, or they may strengthen GVCs by reducing coordination and matching costs.
A world of opportunities and challenges
Research published by the European Parliament in 2017 claimed that Blockchain could “change our lives” (Boucher, 2017). What the various blockchain applications that are being developed in areas as diverse as trade finance, trade facilitation, trade in services, intellectual property and government procurement show is that Blockchain has the potential to impact both the traders and the government agencies involved in international trade significantly. Opportunities are multifaceted, but will only be realized if several key challenges are addressed.
El desarrollo del comercio electrónico en China y la importancia de las políticas
El valor en dólares de las transacciones de comercio electrónico en China ha aumentado enormemente durante los 20 últimos años, con el apoyo de una mejora de la infraestructura, el rápido crecimiento de la telefonía móvil y una mayor financiación. El mercado también se caracteriza por una mayor diversidad, ejemplo de la cual son el crecimiento de los servicios médicos electrónicos, la expansión del comercio electrónico transfronterizo y el aumento de las transacciones en línea/fuera de línea. El Gobierno nacional de China ha desempeñado un papel importante en el desarrollo del comercio electrónico mediante las políticas elaboradas en los planes quinquenales, mientras que los Gobiernos regionales también han participado en la planificación y el ajuste del marco de políticas de comercio electrónico teniendo en cuenta las condiciones locales. *
Blockchaining international trade: a way forward for women’s economic empowerment?
Blockchain technology holds considerable promise to boost women’s participation in international trade. Blockchain’s anonymity and efficiency could enable many women, who otherwise would be constrained by law, custom or high costs, to engage in financial and business transactions. Blockchain can be used to enable women who lack identification documents to undertake transactions that otherwise would require official identification, and to prove their ownership of assets without interventions from male family members. Blockchain can help micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), more than 30 per cent of which are owned by women, to overcome costs associated with exporting and importing, and interact easily with consumers, other businesses engaged in the supply chain, customs officers and regulatory bodies. Blockchain also can increase women farmers’ access to information on crops and market conditions, thus improving their bargaining position. However, if not regulated properly, the expanded use of blockchain also could increase the relative return to sophisticated technology skills that men are more likely to have, and increase the digital divide between men and women. The World Trade Organization (WTO) could play a key role in developing guidelines for the use of blockchain in international trade to support the efficient and inclusive adoption of blockchain technology.
Opportunities and challenges of e-commerce in Mauritius
This study explores the status, challenges and opportunities of e-commerce in Mauritius. The share of the population making online purchases was 14 per cent in 2017, the secondhighest level (after Libya) in Africa, largely due to increases in internet use and penetration, coupled with increased credit card usage and the development of secure online payment systems. And Mauritius topped the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) B2C E-commerce Index (e-readiness) for Africa. A survey of customers revealed high levels of satisfaction with online shopping, due to wider choices, the ability to save time, accessibility and the relative ease of searching for products online. Major concerns included uneasiness over disclosure of personal information and limited ability to contact vendors. Respondents who have not shopped online cited concerns over navigating online, payment security and high costs. Online sellers expressed considerable optimism over future market growth, but also were concerned over a local bias towards international websites, technical limitations of internet service and the small market size. Interviews with policymakers cited the strong legal and regulatory framework supporting electronic payments, but described a need for stronger regulatory cooperation with other countries on e-commerce, and more work to collect statistics. Technical assistance would be useful in these efforts.
Remerciements
Mes sincères remerciements vont à ma collègue Kenza Le Mentec pour ses précieux conseils. Mme Le Mentec m’a initiée au sujet et elle a apporté de précieuses contributions, en particulier pour les sections techniques décrivant la technologie et pour la section sur la facilitation des échanges. Cette publication n’aurait pas été possible sans son soutien.
Conclusion
Research published by the European Parliament in 2017 claimed that Blockchain could “change our lives” (Boucher, 2017). What the various blockchain applications that are being developed in areas as diverse as trade finance, trade facilitation, trade in services, intellectual property and government procurement show is that Blockchain has the potential to impact both the traders and the government agencies involved in international trade significantly. Opportunities are multifaceted, but will only be realized if several key challenges are addressed.
The new rules on digital trade in Latin America: regional trade agreements
While recent technological advances have supported an increase in digital trade, this growth has occurred with a lack of clear and defined rules. This deficiency has become an issue for Latin American countries. With the multilateral trade regime impasse, more complex regional and bilateral agreements have emerged. The formulation of digital trade regulation raises many questions. In this chapter we deal with the new rules on digital trade in regional trade agreements (RTAs) recently negotiated by Latin American economies. In this work, special emphasis is given to comparing the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the most advanced RTAs regarding these issues.
La reglamentación de los datos en los acuerdos comerciales: diferentes modelos y opciones para el futuro
“Los datos son el nuevo petróleo”. Al igual que el petróleo, que impulsó la economía en el siglo pasado, los datos mueven el mundo hoy en día, especialmente en el caso del comercio internacional. El papel crucial que desempeñan los datos puede observarse en cada paso del proceso, desde la concepción de un nuevo producto y el abastecimiento de materias primas y piezas hasta el proceso de fabricación y el transporte de los productos a través de las fronteras, para que, finalmente, estos lleguen a las manos de los consumidores de todos los rincones del mundo.
The ITA and innovation
The general-purpose nature of information technology (IT) means that its widespread use in other economic sectors helps induce organizational and technological innovation throughout the economy. Innovation in IT itself has a magnified effect on economic productivity.
Las cadenas de valor mundiales en la era de Internet: ¿qué oportunidades hay para África?
En el presente capítulo se analizan los efectos de Internet en las cadenas de valor mundiales (CVM) de África. En concreto, analizamos qué repercusión tiene el uso de Internet en la participación progresiva y regresiva de los países africanos en las CVM. Nuestras estimaciones se basan en datos por países de la base de datos EORA de la Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre Comercio y Desarrollo (UNCTAD) sobre las CVM y en datos de empresas procedentes de la Encuesta de Empresas del Banco Mundial. Lo que queremos es verificar si el uso de Internet facilita la participación de los países y las empresas de África en las CVM. Nuestros resultados sugieren que el uso de Internet y la infraestructura de Internet son factores más importantes para la participación progresiva de las empresas y países africanos en las CVM. Nuestra conclusión es que los resultados empíricos muestran que el uso de Internet incrementa la participación en las CVM en África. Los países y empresas africanos deben mejorar la infraestructura de Internet si quieren asegurar la mejor integración posible en las CVM.
Trade, value chains and labor markets in advanced economies
Trade is a major source of employment. Nevertheless, trade has recently been caught in the crossfire in discussions around the decline of manufacturing employment and the polarization of labor markets in advanced economies. In this chapter we examine what the academic literature has to say on the relationship between trade and labor markets, with a specific focus on studies with a value chain perspective. We find that trade has only modest effects on aggregate employment and is unlikely to have been a major contributor to the decline of manufacturing. However, the effects vary considerably across regions and individuals with different skill levels. This implies that policy has a central role to play in making sure that the gains from trade are shared evenly. Our findings highlight that a value chain perspective is important for assessing the impact of trade on labor markets. The emergence of value chains has strengthened linkages between sectors, magnified trade’s impact on skill demand and requires novel trade statistics. Ignoring this leads to a biased view of trade and overestimates its role in the decline of manufacturing employment.
El comercio electrónico en África: cuestiones en juego y desafíos
En el presente capítulo se analiza el potencial del comercio electrónico en África. El rápido crecimiento de Internet y de la telefonía móvil, junto con la adopción de innovaciones móviles que han impulsado en gran medida la inclusión financiera y fomentado el uso de los medios de pago electrónicos, han sentado una sólida base para el desarrollo del comercio electrónico en el continente. Por otro lado, la tasa de penetración bancaria (que sigue siendo baja), las deficiencias en las leyes y reglamentos por los que se rige el sector y su falta de armonización transfronteriza limitan el desarrollo del comercio electrónico en África. La reducción de la ciberdelincuencia, el aumento de la participación en el sector financiero y el fortalecimiento del marco jurídico son indispensables para promover el comercio electrónico.
Are digital advances and inclusive growth compatible goals? Implications for trade policy in developing countries
Recent years have seen policymakers give increasing attention to two significant, widespread phenomena: rising inequality (the result of uneven access to productive employment) and the quickening pace of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) or “digital era”. This chapter explores the concept of inequality and why it is important to promote more inclusive growth, especially in developing countries. It also offers insights into how digital advances can serve to accelerate inclusive growth, provided countries have well-informed policies, regulations and institutions to drive the necessary changes. It is evident from a crosssection of the literature and the initial results from a study on the effects of digital advances on inclusive growth in Africa that digitalization and inclusive growth are ideologically compatible. The areas requiring special attention by policymakers in developing countries include: (i) the problem of data inadequacy; (ii) uneven and costly digital connectivity; and (iii) education systems that are not preparing entrepreneurs for in-demand jobs or for the workplace of the future. Two of the prerequisites for leveraging digital technologies in order to drive more inclusive growth are an effective regulatory framework and a commercial environment that is both trade- and investment-friendly.
L’économie créative numérique et le commerce : options stratégiques pour les pays en développement
Le secteur créatif est une source importante de croissance dans l’économie mondiale, et le commerce des produits et services créatifs numériques a fortement augmenté ces dernières années, en particulier pendant la pandémie de COVID-19. Le contenu numérique remplace les biens physiques, par exemple, dans les segments de la musique, des livres et des jeux. Les agrégateurs numériques comme Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Spotify, TikTok et YouTube ont alimenté une croissance rapide et diversifié les recettes en mettant l’accent sur la diffusion en continu, la publicité et la monétisation des données. Les recettes liées aux droits d’auteur sont également en hausse, et les perceptions de redevances liées au numérique constituent le segment qui connaît la croissance la plus rapide. La participation des pays en développement au secteur semble augmenter, bien que l’on dispose de peu de données sur la question. Pour tirer parti des avantages potentiels de l’économie créative numérique, les pays en développement doivent soutenir une transformation : le modèle classique du créateur indépendant, exerçant une activité à faible valeur ajoutée, doit faire place à une approche de collaboration stratégique qui permet de relever les niveaux d’entrepreneuriat créatif et numérique. À cette fin, il convient de mettre en place un cadre juridique et institutionnel plus solide pour améliorer l’exploitation des droits d’auteur et les monétiser, de soutenir financièrement la commercialisation des activités créatives, d’amener les pouvoirs publics à participer au soutien aux entreprises (qui prend la forme, entre autres, d’activités de formation, d’incubateurs, de laboratoires d’innovation, d’incubateurs de marché, et de programmes de développement de groupements et de marchés), de créer des institutions pouvant représenter les intérêts des travailleurs et des entreprises du secteur créatif, et d’harmoniser les politiques publiques concernant le secteur.