State of Digital Economy in Asia-Pacific Region

Abstract

The paper seeks to examine the cross-country variation in the state of digital economy in Asia-Pacific region. In addition, this paper also identifies the role played by the digital skill in fostering the development of the digital economy in the Asia-Pacific region using secondary data of 43 Asia-Pacific countries over 2012 to 2017. K-means clustering approach and panel regression method were used for the purpose of analysis of data. The outcome of the study revealed stark variations in use, access, and overall digital economy amongst the Asia-Pacific countries signifying the prevalence of digital inequality. The findings of the study highlighted that secondary and tertiary education as the proxies of digital skill exerted significant positive effect on the development of digital economy. However, the effect of tertiary education was found to be stronger than that of the secondary education. The outcome of the study also identified income level to be affecting the development digital economy.

The role of digital skill in mitigating digital divide: evidences from Asia-Pacific region

“…Further, the χ2 value as obtained from the Hausman test was observed to be statistically insignificant, which signifies that REM is applicable rather than FEM. The outcome of the REM as presented in Table 4 shows that the coefficient associated with the digital skill was found to be positive and statistically significant, which clearly underscores that the digital skill played an instrumental role in narrowing the DD in the Asia-Pacific region during the period of the study which is consistent with the findings of the studies carried out by Song et al (2020) and Maji and Laha (2020). This finding is in tune with the theoretically accepted notion that unless and until the people are digitally skilled, the DD can never be mitigated.…”

“…Moreover, education is a quintessential enabling factor that boosts the digital skill and thereby reduces digital inequality. The positive effect of education in reducing digital inequality is also well documented in the literature (Vicente and Lopez, 2008;Cuervo and Men endez, 2006;Cruz-Jesus et al, 2016;Agrawal and Asrani, 2018;Maji and Laha, 2020).…”

“…Further, the study was a cross-sectional investigation based on a small sample of 24 Asia-Pacific countries, and hence generalisation based on such a small sample can be misleading. In another study, Maji and Laha (2020) assessed the state of the digital economy in the Asia-Pacific region. The findings of the study revealed the prevalence of DD in the region, which can be narrowed by strengthening the digital skill.…”

“…Several researchers have investigated the nature and causes of increasing DD across the globe (Chinn and Fairlie, 2007; Yartey, 2008; Shchetinin and Baptiste, 2008; Cruz-Jesus et al , 2012; Nishijima et al , 2017; Buys et al , 2009) and Asian countries in particular (Wong, 2002; Kiiski and Pohjola, 2002; Quibria et al , 2003; Ono, 2005; Gillian and Suarez, 2005; Dewan et al , 2005; Murthy and Nath, 2009; Nipo et al , 2014; Maji and Laha, 2020). The outcome of the majority of the studies with respect to Asian countries uniformly outlined the existence of sharp DD amongst the Asian countries.…”

Overcoming digital poverty traps in rural Asia

“…For example, 40.4% of urban households in Sri Lanka are considered computer literate, whereas in rural areas the proportion is only 27.5% (Quimba et al, 2020). Levels of education, household income, and the degree of urbanization appear to be important factors behind the digital divide in Asia (Maji & Laha, 2020, 2022).…”