Digital infrastructure development in Russia, Europe and Asia

Abstract

The paper presents a comprehensive authors’ research which is intended to study the problems of development of the digital economy in various regions of the world. Digital technologies change the mode of economic policy, labor market landscape, break down the market entrance barriers, and represent new models for business operations, primarily in small and medium business. Digitalization contributes to public infrastructure development, which is able to help with overcoming conventional drags on the expansion of the economy and increasing the productivity of labor. Design/methodology/approach: Problems of digital infrastructure development in Russia, Europe, and Asia have been revealed and identified in the course of research. The comparative analysis of the levels of digital transformation in the economies of regions under consideration as well as the processes of changes in the business models in an age of the digital economy has been carried out using the example of the sector of information and communication technology (ICT). The tools for economic-mathematical, statistical and logical study of problems of society during digital transformation were used: digital culture of society; social communication platforms and channels; development of infrastructure and ecosystem of digital society. The author’s approach has integrated the communication problems of the digital society in the regions under consideration to generalize the modern experience of the impact of digitalization on the ICT market, society, and labor market. Findings: The authors explore the directions for the development of the digital economy in Russia drawing on the Asian and European experiences. The analysis has been carried out and the best ways of development of the digital economy in Russia have been identified. Digitalization in Europe includes digitalization of assets and labor force using the ICT segment. The United States are the world’s biggest developer of largest platforms and producer of worldwide information content. In Asian countries, digital technologies provide consumer communication, which contributes to improvement of the quality of life and convenience. Originality/value: Trends and paths of Russia’s development on the way toward digital transformation have been identified. It has been proved that digital technologies break down the entrance barriers and provide new models for enterprises, they promote public infrastructure development, which makes it possible to overcome conventional barriers to development, increase productivity and support economic growth. The research has made it possible to establish that the segment of small and medium enterprises (SME) is more prone to innovations than the big business segment, since small and medium enterprises are mobile and therefore more likely to be pioneers in the use of new technologie