Shifting Paradigms in the Rapidly Developing Global Digital Ecosystem

Abstract

Despite growing scholarly interest in the impact of the digital economy on economic recovery in the midst of the current global crisis and regional development situations, research on the effects of the global crisis on developing digital economies in the Gulf Cooperation Council Region (GCC) and the resulting future uncertainty is limited. Thus, this chapter examines the developing GCC countries' digital infrastructure, openness, innovation environment, competitiveness, and digital divide to determine how the digital economy affects economic growth during a global crisis. This chapter demonstrates how the GCC economies are still developing and attempting to diversify away from oil, with the digital economy serving as a major driving force in achieving the region's goals. Furthermore, while the recent pandemic has harmed GCC digital industries, it has also increased demand, creating an excellent opportunity to develop the region's digital infrastructure to compete with developed digital economies. Policy implications have been proposed as a potential impact mechanism.