Digital Economy: A Comparative Study in ASEAN

Lam Quynh Trang  Tran; Dai Thich  Phan; Manh Tuan  Nguyen

doi:10.18096/TMP.2022.02.05

Authors

Lam Quynh Trang Tran University of Debrecen
Dai Thich Phan University of Miskolc
Manh Tuan Nguyen University of Economics and Business, Vietnam National University - Hanoi

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18096/TMP.2022.02.05

Keywords:

ASEAN, Digital economy, NRI

Abstract

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an area with the rapid adoption of technology, the growth of internet and mobile phone users, region-wide digital initiatives to increase connectivity between markets, and the drastic acceleration of digitalization across practically all aspects of the economy. Currently, especially in the Covid-19 pandemic period, the digital economy is a key factor driving the growth of the region's economy. Based on the Networked Readiness Index (NRI), the study will analyze and compare the differences between ASEAN countries in terms of the digital economy. The purpose of the study is to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each country, thereby giving an overview of the potential of ASEAN countries in the period of digital economy readiness. The study results clearly show the digital economy gap and many differences in terms of the people pillar across countries. Singapore and Malaysia are among the top digital economies in the region; however, only Thailand made substantial progress from 2019–2021. Although ranked the lowest in the digital economy, Lao PDR and Cambodia have many positive improvements. Although ASEAN countries have strengths in digital technology, applying digital technology toward sustainable development is still a challenge for most countries in the region.

Author Biography

Manh Tuan Nguyen, University of Economics and Business, Vietnam National University - Hanoi

Associate Professor

References

AVIRUTHA, A. A. (2021). ASEAN in Digital Economy: Opportunities and Challenges. Journal of ASEAN PLUS Studies, 2(1), 17-25.

AYRES, R. U., & WILLIAMS, E. (2004). The Digital Economy: Where do we stand? Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 71(4), 315-339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2003.11.001

BALLER, S., DUTTA, S., & LANVIN, B. (2016). Global Information Technology Report 2016. World Economic Forum. Geneva: Ouranos.

BOX, S., & LOPEZ-GONZALEZ, J. (2017). The Future of Technology: Opportunities for ASEAN in the Digital Economy. In: Global Megatrends: Implications for the ASEAN Economic Community. ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta, 37-60.

BUKHT, R., & HEEKS, R. (2017). Defining, conceptualising, and measuring the Digital economy. Development Informatics working paper (68). Global Development Institute, University of Manchester, UK. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3431732

CAMERON, A, PHAM T H, ATHERTON, J, NGUYEN, D H, NGUYEN, T P, TRAN, S T, NGUYEN, T N, TRINH, H Y & HAJKOWICZ, S. (2019). Vietnam’s future digital economy – Towards 2030 and 2045: Summary report. CSIRO, Brisbane.

DAHLMAN, C., S. MEALY & M. WERMELINGER (2016). Harnessing the digital economy for developing countries. OECD Development Centre Working Papers, No. 334, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/4adffb24-en

DECLARATION, A. S. E. A. N. (1967). The ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) Bangkok, 8 August 1967.

DUTTA, S., & LANVIN, B. (2019). The Network Readiness Index 2019. Portulans Institute, Washington DC. https://networkreadinessindex.org/2019/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/The-Network-Readiness-Index-2019-New-version-March-2020-2.pdf

DUTTA, S., & LANVIN, B. (2020). The Network Readiness Index 2020. Portulans Institute, Washington DC. https://networkreadinessindex.org/2020/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/NRI-2020-Final-PR-and-Key-Messages-Eng.pdf

DUTTA, S., & LANVIN, B. (2021). The Network Readiness Index 2021. Portulans Institute, Washington DC. https://networkreadinessindex.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/nri_2021_presentation.pdf

KUSUMASTUTI, A., & NURYANI, A. (2020, March). Digital literacy levels in ASEAN (comparative study on ASEAN countries). In IISS 2019: Proceedings of the 13th International Interdisciplinary Studies Seminar, IISS 2019, 30-31 October 2019, Malang, Indonesia (p. 269). European Alliance for Innovation. https://doi.org/10.4108/eai.23-10-2019.2293047

LANE, N. (1999). Advancing the Digital economy into the 21st century. Information Systems Frontiers, 1(3), 317-320. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010010630396

MARSAN, G. A. (2022, April). Investing in innovation: Addressing the digital divide in ASEAN. East Asia Forum Quarterly, 14(2), 27-29).

NAGY, S. (2019). Digital economy and society. A cross country comparison of Hungary and Ukraine. arXiv preprint arXiv:1901.00283.

NENGSI, F. (2019). The Women’s Participation in Digital Economy in ASEAN. Journal of Islamic World and Politics, 3(1), 516-36. https://doi.org/10.18196/jiwp.3128

PETRENKO, S. A., MAKOVEICHUK, K. A., CHETYRBOK, P. V., & PETRENKO, A. S. (2017). About readiness for Digital economy. In: 2017 IEEE II International Conference on Control in Technical Systems (CTS) (pp. 96-99). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/CTSYS.2017.8109498

PITAKDUMRONGKIT, K. (2018). Addressing Digital Protectionism in ASEAN: Towards better regional governance in the digital age. S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Nanyang Technological University.

VALENDUC, G., & VENDRAMIN, P. (2016). Work in the Digital Economy: Sorting the Old from the New (Vol. 3). Brussels: European Trade Union Institute. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2770405

YIM, O., & RAMDEEN, K. T. (2015). Hierarchical cluster analysis: comparison of three linkage measures and application to psychological data. The quantitative methods for psychology,11(1), 8-21. https://doi.org/10.20982/tqmp.11.1.p008