Publication: The Regulation of Digital Trade: Key Policies and International Trends
Loading...
Published
2020-01-04
ISSN
Date
2020-01-13
Editor(s)
Abstract
One day, people will wonder how global trade was even possible with before goods and services were bought and sold in global digital markets without regard or even knowledge of where sellers and buyers where located. We are not there yet --not by a long shot. For now, digital trade remains segmented mostly along national and regional boundaries, due largely to a combination of lack of consumer trust in online transactions and regulatory differences across borders, as well as the inherent challenges of moving goods internationally. Regulation plays a central role in building the foundations of digital markets. It can provide the legal tools necessary for remote contracts, clarify the rights and obligations of the multiple actors involved in digital transactions, and establish a framework that promotes consumer trust in digital markets, even when the consumer does not know the merchant or when the merchant is in a different country. However, regulation can also further segment digital trade, de facto restricting digital transactions to within national boundaries, or allowing for cross-border transactions with some partners to flourish, while limiting others. This can be the intended result of regulatory measures that limit cross-border data flows or online purchases or may be the undesired effect of regulatory differences across countries that leads businesses to offer different goods and services across boundaries.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Daza Jaller, Lillyana; Gaillard, Simon; Molinuevo, Martín. 2020. The Regulation of Digital Trade: Key Policies and International Trends. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33164 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Digital Trade in MENA(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-03)A strong regulatory framework can provide essential tools for remote transactions and improve trust in digital trade. Yet, regulations can also introduce restrictions that hamper the conditions for digital markets. Based on a database of 20 Middle East and North Africa countries and 20 comparator countries around the world, this paper shows that the Middle East and North Africa region is falling behind in establishing a modern governance framework for the digital economy. The analysis focuses on a set of regulatory areas, including electronic documentation and signature, online consumer protection, data governance, cybersecurity, and intermediary liability regulations. It assesses each country's domestic regulatory framework in light of recent international trends and regulatory models. The study shows that regulation of digital markets in countries in the region is still in its infancy, being mostly governed by general laws that were not originally intended for the digital era. Some countries have tried to support an export-oriented information technology sector by keeping an updated regulatory framework. However, regulation in most countries in the region, regardless of their level of development, still features some major loopholes that can limit consumer trust in digital markets or reduce certainty -- and increase costs -- for digital businesses.Publication Authentication and Digital Signatures in E-Law and Security : A Guide for Legislators and Managers(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2004-12)The concept of authentication has been around for a long time in many forms. For example due diligence in commerce has traditionally been formalized to determine whether the data presented in commercial propositions are accurate and comprehensive. With the emergence of e-commerce the concept of authentication has encompassed new realities that are a feature of the relatively narrow avenues for information and potentially high risks inherent in an online environment. This paper seeks to provide an understanding about the different ways of assuring authentication. These authentication rules and tools including for example public key infrastructure (PKI) are sometimes meant to set a legal and technological framework for trustworthy electronic transactions, promoting e-procurement, e-commerce, e-business, and e-government. The two considerations of business risk and legal validity are both intrinsic to the concept of authentication. This report explores the issues and solutions affecting the concept of authentication in terms of legislation, management and technology. This report finds that for online authentication things is not always what they may seem and that legislation and technology alone cannot build a trust environment and, if misunderstood, may produce a high risk illusion. It is crucial that the limitations and fallibility of the technology be explicit in its commercial applications and that business risks be managed accordingly.Publication Managing Records and Information for Transparent, Accountable, and Inclusive Governance in the Digital Environment(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-06)This set of three case studies explores the intersection of openness, digital governance, andhigh quality information in Estonia,1 Finland, and Norway with the aim of identifying lessonsthat will support the same objectives in lower resource countries. Openness, a key aspect ofthe international agenda for increasing transparency and accountability, for reducing public sectorcorruption, and for strengthening economic performance, rests on the principle that citizenshave a right to know what their governments are doing and to benefit from using governmentinformation. Goals for open, accountable, and inclusive governance rest on the assumption thattrustworthy information is available and can be shared meaningfully through strategies for digitalgovernance. This assumption needs to be examined. Does reliable and complete informationexist across lower resource countries? Can it be accessed readily? Will it survive through time?Publication Digital Identity Toolkit : A Guide for Stakeholders in Africa(Washington, DC, 2014-06)Digital identity, or electronic identity (eID), offers developing nations a unique opportunity to accelerate the pace of their national progress. It changes the way services are delivered, helps grow a country's digital economy, and supports effective safety nets for disadvantaged and impoverished populations. Though digital identity is an opportunity, it raises important considerations with respect to privacy, cost, capacity, and long-term viability. This report provides a strategic view of the role of identification in a country's national development, as well as a tactical view of the building blocks and policy choices needed for setting up eID in a developing country. The report presents a conceptual overview of digital identity management practices, providing a set of guidelines at a national level that policymakers can find helpful as they begin to think about modernizing the identity infrastructure of their country into eID. The report also provides an operating knowledge of the terminology and concepts used in identity management and an exposition of the functional blocks that must be in place. Policy considerations are referenced at the end of the report that governments can use as they contemplate a digital identity program. Given its abridged nature, the report is intended to be insightful and detailed, though not exhaustive. Several important topics related to eID are noted though deserve further discussion, including: economic and financial analysis, the development and setup of a national civil register, and cross-border aspects of eID. The building blocks, as discussed, can help ensure that a secure, robust and reliable digital identity platform can serve the development needs of a country for the foreseeable future.Publication Implementing Electronic Business Registry Services(2007-06-29)The objective of this paper is to share the experiences and good practices of early business registry reformers who implemented web-enabled and automated electronic business registries (e-BRs). These lessons are hoped to be of help to EU New Member countries as they embark on delivering EU-conformant e-BRs. At the same time, policymakers in other developing countries may also find these lessons of use. This paper cites examples of good practices rather than best practices. As elsewhere in the development agenda, solutions that have worked well in some countries may not work in other local circumstances. In the case of e-BRs, success depends on a broader set of reforms; as will be discussed in a subsequent chapter, e-BRs require a supportive legal and regulatory infrastructure, such as electronic signature laws and document authentication. A needs assessment and analysis of the options in the local country context need to be conducted in order to find the most relevant best practice options for a specific country. Nevertheless, a number of practical good practices can be identified and are presented in this paper for consideration.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication The Container Port Performance Index 2023(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-07-18)The Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) measures the time container ships spend in port, making it an important point of reference for stakeholders in the global economy. These stakeholders include port authorities and operators, national governments, supranational organizations, development agencies, and other public and private players in trade and logistics. The index highlights where vessel time in container ports could be improved. Streamlining these processes would benefit all parties involved, including shipping lines, national governments, and consumers. This fourth edition of the CPPI relies on data from 405 container ports with at least 24 container ship port calls in the calendar year 2023. As in earlier editions of the CPPI, the ranking employs two different methodological approaches: an administrative (technical) approach and a statistical approach (using matrix factorization). Combining these two approaches ensures that the overall ranking of container ports reflects actual port performance as closely as possible while also being statistically robust. The CPPI methodology assesses the sequential steps of a container ship port call. ‘Total port hours’ refers to the total time elapsed from the moment a ship arrives at the port until the vessel leaves the berth after completing its cargo operations. The CPPI uses time as an indicator because time is very important to shipping lines, ports, and the entire logistics chain. However, time, as captured by the CPPI, is not the only way to measure port efficiency, so it does not tell the entire story of a port’s performance. Factors that can influence the time vessels spend in ports can be location-specific and under the port’s control (endogenous) or external and beyond the control of the port (exogenous). The CPPI measures time spent in container ports, strictly based on quantitative data only, which do not reveal the underlying factors or root causes of extended port times. A detailed port-specific diagnostic would be required to assess the contribution of underlying factors to the time a vessel spends in port. A very low ranking or a significant change in ranking may warrant special attention, for which the World Bank generally recommends a detailed diagnostic.Publication Business Ready 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-03)Business Ready (B-READY) is a new World Bank Group corporate flagship report that evaluates the business and investment climate worldwide. It replaces and improves upon the Doing Business project. B-READY provides a comprehensive data set and description of the factors that strengthen the private sector, not only by advancing the interests of individual firms but also by elevating the interests of workers, consumers, potential new enterprises, and the natural environment. This 2024 report introduces a new analytical framework that benchmarks economies based on three pillars: Regulatory Framework, Public Services, and Operational Efficiency. The analysis centers on 10 topics essential for private sector development that correspond to various stages of the life cycle of a firm. The report also offers insights into three cross-cutting themes that are relevant for modern economies: digital adoption, environmental sustainability, and gender. B-READY draws on a robust data collection process that includes specially tailored expert questionnaires and firm-level surveys. The 2024 report, which covers 50 economies, serves as the first in a series that will expand in geographical coverage and refine its methodology over time, supporting reform advocacy, policy guidance, and further analysis and research.Publication Global Economic Prospects, January 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-16)Global growth is expected to hold steady at 2.7 percent in 2025-26. However, the global economy appears to be settling at a low growth rate that will be insufficient to foster sustained economic development—with the possibility of further headwinds from heightened policy uncertainty and adverse trade policy shifts, geopolitical tensions, persistent inflation, and climate-related natural disasters. Against this backdrop, emerging market and developing economies are set to enter the second quarter of the twenty-first century with per capita incomes on a trajectory that implies substantially slower catch-up toward advanced-economy living standards than they previously experienced. Without course corrections, most low-income countries are unlikely to graduate to middle-income status by the middle of the century. Policy action at both global and national levels is needed to foster a more favorable external environment, enhance macroeconomic stability, reduce structural constraints, address the effects of climate change, and thus accelerate long-term growth and development.Publication Global Economic Prospects, June 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-06-10)The global economy is facing another substantial headwind, emanating largely from an increase in trade tensions and heightened global policy uncertainty. For emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), the ability to boost job creation and reduce extreme poverty has declined. Key downside risks include a further escalation of trade barriers and continued policy uncertainty. These challenges are exacerbated by subdued foreign direct investment into EMDEs. Global cooperation is needed to restore a more stable international trade environment and scale up support for vulnerable countries grappling with conflict, debt burdens, and climate change. Domestic policy action is also critical to contain inflation risks and strengthen fiscal resilience. To accelerate job creation and long-term growth, structural reforms must focus on raising institutional quality, attracting private investment, and strengthening human capital and labor markets. Countries in fragile and conflict situations face daunting development challenges that will require tailored domestic policy reforms and well-coordinated multilateral support.Publication Digital Progress and Trends Report 2023(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-03-05)Digitalization is the transformational opportunity of our time. The digital sector has become a powerhouse of innovation, economic growth, and job creation. Value added in the IT services sector grew at 8 percent annually during 2000–22, nearly twice as fast as the global economy. Employment growth in IT services reached 7 percent annually, six times higher than total employment growth. The diffusion and adoption of digital technologies are just as critical as their invention. Digital uptake has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic, with 1.5 billion new internet users added from 2018 to 2022. The share of firms investing in digital solutions around the world has more than doubled from 2020 to 2022. Low-income countries, vulnerable populations, and small firms, however, have been falling behind, while transformative digital innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) have been accelerating in higher-income countries. Although more than 90 percent of the population in high-income countries was online in 2022, only one in four people in low-income countries used the internet, and the speed of their connection was typically only a small fraction of that in wealthier countries. As businesses in technologically advanced countries integrate generative AI into their products and services, less than half of the businesses in many low- and middle-income countries have an internet connection. The growing digital divide is exacerbating the poverty and productivity gaps between richer and poorer economies. The Digital Progress and Trends Report series will track global digitalization progress and highlight policy trends, debates, and implications for low- and middle-income countries. The series adds to the global efforts to study the progress and trends of digitalization in two main ways: · By compiling, curating, and analyzing data from diverse sources to present a comprehensive picture of digitalization in low- and middle-income countries, including in-depth analyses on understudied topics. · By developing insights on policy opportunities, challenges, and debates and reflecting the perspectives of various stakeholders and the World Bank’s operational experiences. This report, the first in the series, aims to inform evidence-based policy making and motivate action among internal and external audiences and stakeholders. The report will bring global attention to high-performing countries that have valuable experience to share as well as to areas where efforts will need to be redoubled.