The economics of digitization is the field of economics that studies how digitization, digitalisation and digital transformation affects markets and how digital data can be used to study economics.
Digitization is the process by which technology lowers the costs of storing, sharing, and analyzing data. This has changed how consumers behave, how industrial activity is organized, and how governments operate.
The economics of digitization exists as a distinct field of economics for two reasons. First, new economic models are needed because many traditional assumptions about information no longer hold in a digitized world.
Second, the new types of data generated by digitization require new methods for their analysis.
Research in the economics of digitization touches on several fields of economics including industrial organization, labor economics, and intellectual property. Consequently, many of the contributions to the economics of digitization have also found an intellectual home in these fields.
An underlying theme in much of the work in the field is that existing government regulation of copyright, security, and antitrust is inappropriate in the modern world. For example, information goods, such as news articles and movies, now have zero marginal costs of production and sharing. This has made the redistribution without permission common and has increased competition between providers of information goods.
Research in the economics of digitization studies how policy should adapt in response to these changes.
On a Kumasi based Silver FM’s morning show, the host , Nana Ampratwum together with his panelists: Mr. Boakye Yiadom- Political Analyst, Mr. Clement Acheampong-Historian and Political Analyst and Mr. Sulemana Sirikye, NPP’s Communications Officer at Bekwai Municipality delved into the topic.
All the three panels toned similar way on the issue saying digitization and digitalization is the best way to now as the world keeps evolving.
The Political Analyst Mr. Boakye Yiadom said, for any developing nation to develop in these modern day, you need to digitised your economy to catch ups with the world’s direction development.
He added that, if successful with these digitization and digitalization agenda by the current government, one will not need to carry along money before purchasing whatever he or she will want to buy.
“Those saying it won’t help, let me tell you, digitization will feed you sometime to come”, he opined on the show monitored by filasconews on Friday, November 5, 2021.
The Historian cum Lecturer at the Prempeh College, Mr. Clement Acheampong added that, traditional way of doing things and assumptions about information no longer hold in this modern era hence the need to go digital.
He said all the developed countries accross the world relied on digitalization and digitazation there Ghana must follow.
On his part, Sulemana Sirikye-Bekwai NPP’s Communications Officer elaborated that, ” economics of digitazation touches on several fields including industrial organization, labor economics and intellectual property”,. Adding that with this, government can create more jobs and the citizens will be the beneficiaries.
Thus, is a plus for the country’s economy to be digitised.
The necessity of the discussion came about after the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, Dr. Alhaji Mahamadu Bawumia during his public lecture at the Ashesi University-Accra touted government’s unflinching efforts to go digital.
