Submit to Special Issue Submit Abstract to Special Issue Review for Economies Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Emerging Trends in the Digital Economy: Opportunities, Challenges, and Implications for Developing Countries

Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
Published Papers

A special issue of Economies (ISSN 2227-7099). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 5953

Share This Special Issue

Editors

Dr. Marko Šostar

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Faculty of Tourism and Rural Development in Pozega, J. J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Pozega, Croatia
Interests: sustainable development; project management; EU funds; marketing research; consumer behavior
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Berislav Andrlić

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor

Faculty of Tourism and Rural Development in Pozega, J. J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Pozega, Croatia
Interests: marketing management; tourism; sustainable development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue seeks to explore the transformative impact of innovative technologies on the digital economy in developing countries. It aims to address the opportunities and challenges these nations face as they adopt emerging technological solutions to foster growth, inclusivity, and sustainability in the digital age. The Special Issue focuses on the intersection of innovation, technology, and economic development in the context of digital economies. Topics include marketing strategies, policy, infrastructure, governance, and technological advancements that influence economic activity and development trajectories in emerging markets.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue, titled “Emerging Trends in the Digital Economy: Opportunities, Challenges, and Implications for Developing Countries”. The digital economy is reshaping global markets, offering immense potential for economic growth and social transformation. Developing countries, while rich in opportunities, face unique challenges, including limited infrastructure, regulatory barriers, and the need for inclusive innovation. This research area is of critical importance as policymakers, researchers, and practitioners seek to harness the potential of innovative technologies to bridge development gaps and foster sustainable progress. We seek to build a comprehensive body of work that offers theoretical insights, empirical findings, and policy recommendations to support developing countries in navigating the complexities of the digital economy.

Submissions should consist of theoretical or applied research in a large range of tracks and topics, including, but not limited to, the following:

Marketing strategies for emerging economies;
Technological innovation in the digital economy;
Policy and governance for the digital economy;
Economic development and inclusion in the digital age;
Infrastructure and accessibility in developing digital economies;
Sustainability and ethics in digital transformation;
Digital entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems;
Cross-border trade and global value chains;
Education and skill development for the digital economy;
Public–private partnerships in digital transformation;
Social and cultural impacts of the digital economy.

We look forward to receiving your contribution.

Dr. Marko Šostar
Dr. Berislav Andrlić
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Economies is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

marketing strategies
digital economy
innovative technologies
economic development
emerging markets
sustainability
technological innovation
inclusive growth
digital transformation
developing countries

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (7 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

20 pages, 2090 KB

Open AccessArticle

Digital Economy, Regional AI Orientation, and Industrial Structure Upgrading Under Economic Policy Uncertainty: Evidence from China

by Zhidi Yin and Jiamei Che

Economies 2026, 14(6), 226; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies14060226 - 12 Jun 2026

Viewed by 220

Abstract

This study examines whether the digital economy helps provincial economies sustain industrial structure upgrading under economic policy uncertainty (EPU), and whether regional AI orientation strengthens this role. Using a balanced panel of 30 Chinese provinces from 2015 to 2023, the study uses the standardised logarithm of a provincial digital economy index as its core measure of digital development. Province and year fixed-effects models show that the triple interaction among digital economy development, regional AI orientation, and high EPU is positive and statistically significant. Marginal effect analysis indicates that the digital economy effect under high EPU only becomes positive when regional AI orientation exceeds a threshold, suggesting a conditional rather than universal effect. Robustness checks, alternative dependent variables, province-grouped machine learning validation, and supplementary policy exposure evidence based on Broadband China pilots are consistent with this state-dependent complementarity, although the estimates are interpreted as conditional associations rather than definitive causal effects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Trends in the Digital Economy: Opportunities, Challenges, and Implications for Developing Countries)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

25 pages, 310 KB

Open AccessArticle

Trade Intensity and Global Value Chain Participation: Evidence from Developing Economies

by Vladimir Ristanović, Jasmina Mlađenović and Davor Huška

Economies 2026, 14(6), 224; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies14060224 - 11 Jun 2026

Viewed by 212

Abstract

This paper investigates the role of cross-border trade in shaping participation in global value chains (GVCs) in developing and emerging economies over the period 2000–2022. It tests the central hypothesis that greater trade intensity enhances integration into fragmented global production systems. Using panel data methods, the analysis examines the effects of trade openness alongside foreign direct investment, logistics performance, GDP per capita, and domestic value added. The results provide strong evidence that trade openness is the dominant driver of GVC participation, with a robust and economically meaningful elasticity. Domestic value added is also positively associated with GVC integration, suggesting that deeper global engagement can coincide with increased domestic value creation. GDP per capita exerts a weaker but significant effect, while foreign direct investment and logistics performance do not show direct statistical significance in the preferred specification. These findings highlight trade as the primary transmission mechanism linking national economies to global production networks, while also pointing to a complementary role of domestic capabilities. At the same time, increased reliance on cross-border trade may heighten exposure to external shocks, underscoring a key policy trade-off. The study concludes that effective GVC integration requires balancing openness with strategies that strengthen resilience and value capture. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Trends in the Digital Economy: Opportunities, Challenges, and Implications for Developing Countries)

22 pages, 2087 KB

Open AccessArticle

Governing Platform Work in the Digital Economy: Comparative Policy Models in Southeast Asia and Pathways to Inclusive Labour Protection

by Nguyen Thi Giang

Economies 2026, 14(6), 214; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies14060214 - 5 Jun 2026

Viewed by 341

Abstract

Platform work governance has emerged as a pressing policy challenge in emerging economies, yet comparative scholarship remains dominated by advanced-economy cases and tends to analyse regulatory instruments in isolation rather than as interdependent governance configurations. This article addresses that gap through a theory-informed qualitative comparative documentary analysis of platform work governance across three Southeast Asian countries, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam, selected through a most-different-systems logic to maximise institutional variation. Drawing on a systematically constructed corpus of 127 national policy documents (2015–2024) and a five-dimensional analytical framework—legal classification, social protection, platform accountability, worker representation, and governance capacity—the study tests three falsifiable propositions linking institutional capacity to governance design. The documentary analysis identifies three distinct regulatory pathway designs in the 127-document corpus: managed flexibilisation (Singapore), coordinated transition (Malaysia), and controlled experimentation (Vietnam). Rather than converging on a universal model, platform governance appears to be path-dependent, institutionally mediated, and development-specific, at least in the three cases examined here. The central theoretical contribution is the concept of modular regulation a development-oriented framework proposing that governance configurations, not individual instruments, are the primary unit of cross-national variation in platform labour policy. A four-pillar policy architecture derived from the analysis provides context-sensitive guidance for emerging economies. The principal limitation is the study’s reliance on documentary evidence, which documents governance design but cannot assess implementation quality or worker-level outcomes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Trends in the Digital Economy: Opportunities, Challenges, and Implications for Developing Countries)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

27 pages, 664 KB

Open AccessArticle

Digital Connectivity, Financial Development, and Economic Performance in BRICS Economies: Evidence from Robust Panel Estimators and Distributional Dynamics

by Tulkin Imomkulov, Sardor Samiyev, Nuriddin Shanyazov, Zokir Mamadiyarov, Mohichekhra Kurbonbekova, Jurabek Kuralbaev and Oybek Odamboyev

Economies 2026, 14(4), 138; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies14040138 - 15 Apr 2026

Viewed by 1076

Abstract

This study explores the drivers of economic growth in the BRICS economies—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—over the period 1994–2024, focusing on the roles of digital infrastructure and financial development. Using a balanced panel, we examine how internet connectivity and access to credit shape growth, both independently and in combination, while accounting for gross fixed capital formation, urbanization, and government expenditure. Given the macro-panel structure, which exhibits heteroskedasticity, serial correlation, and cross-sectional dependence, we employ robust estimation techniques, including Driscoll–Kraay standard errors (DKSE), Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS), and Panel-Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE). To capture potential heterogeneity across different growth scenarios, we further apply the Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) as a robustness check. Our findings show that both internet connectivity and financial development consistently promote economic growth across all main specifications. Importantly, the interaction between these two factors is also significant, indicating that the benefits of digital infrastructure are stronger in countries with deeper financial systems, and vice versa. Among the control variables, capital accumulation and government spending positively contribute to growth, while urbanization exhibits a negative association, reflecting the structural challenges of rapid urban expansion. MMQR results confirm that these relationships hold across low-, medium-, and high-growth periods, highlighting their broad relevance. These findings highlight the synergistic role of technological and financial development and underscore the importance of integrated policies to sustain long-term, inclusive growth in the BRICS economies. This study suggests that policymakers should adopt integrated strategies that enhance digital connectivity, deepen financial development, and support productive public investment to sustain inclusive and resilient economic growth. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Trends in the Digital Economy: Opportunities, Challenges, and Implications for Developing Countries)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

25 pages, 1410 KB

Open AccessArticle

Digital Transformation and Technological Innovation in Emerging Economies: Substitution Effects and Regional Heterogeneity in China’s Foreign Trade

by Qian Jiang, Yi Tu and Jun Tu

Economies 2026, 14(4), 126; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies14040126 - 9 Apr 2026

Viewed by 663

Abstract

The rapid expansion of the digital economy is reshaping the global production and trade system, bringing new opportunities for developing economies seeking to enhance their international competitiveness, while also posing structural challenges. This study focuses on China, a typical emerging economy, and uses provincial panel data from 2015 to 2024 to empirically examine how digital transformation and technological innovation jointly affect foreign trade competitiveness. The core variables are measured as follows: The digitalization level is constructed using principal component analysis (PCA) based on three dimensions: digital infrastructure, digital industrialization, and industrial digitization; technological innovation is proxied by the logarithm of technology market transaction volume. This study employs a fixed-effects model with interaction terms to estimate the independent effects of digitalization and technological innovation and to explore their interaction within the framework of the digital economy. The empirical results show that both digital transformation and technological innovation have a significant positive impact on foreign trade competitiveness. Specifically, a 10-point increase in the digitalization index is associated with an approximately 0.10-unit increase in the trade competitiveness index, and a 1% increase in technological innovation input is associated with an increase of 0.032–0.042 units. However, their interaction coefficient is significantly negative (−0.001, p < 0.01), indicating a substitution effect: an increase in technological innovation investment weakens the marginal contribution of digitalization to export competitiveness, and vice versa. Further heterogeneity analysis shows that the direct effects of digital transformation and technological innovation are more significant in less developed regions, while the substitution effect is stronger in economically developed regions. The findings suggest that policies promoting digital transformation and technological innovation should avoid a uniform approach and instead adopt coordinated and phased strategies that are suitable for regional development conditions. By providing new empirical evidence on the interaction between digital economy development and innovation investment, this study enriches the existing literature and offers policy implications for emerging economies seeking to achieve sustainable foreign trade development under increasing global trade uncertainty. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Trends in the Digital Economy: Opportunities, Challenges, and Implications for Developing Countries)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

25 pages, 525 KB

Open AccessArticle

Digital Transformation and Quality-Oriented Tourism Supply as Determinants of Destination Competitiveness in Developing Economies

by Antun Marinac and Barbara Pisker

Economies 2026, 14(4), 124; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies14040124 - 7 Apr 2026

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1162

Abstract

Digital transformation is increasingly reshaping how tourism destinations enhance service quality and strengthen competitive positioning, particularly in developing economies characterized by heterogeneous digital maturity and structural constraints. This study develops and empirically tests a conceptual model examining the relationship between destination digital transformation, tourism supply quality, and destination competitiveness, with a specific focus on the mediating role of quality-oriented tourism supply. Survey data were collected from 242 tourism stakeholders and analyzed using hierarchical regression and bootstrapped mediation analysis (PROCESS Model 4, 5000 samples). The results show that digital transformation has a significant positive total effect on destination competitiveness (β = 0.48, p < 0.001), explaining 56% of the variance in competitiveness (R² = 0.56). However, a substantial portion of this effect is transmitted indirectly through tourism supply quality. The mediation analysis confirms a statistically significant partial mediation effect, with approximately 41% of the total effect operating through quality-oriented mechanisms. The findings demonstrate that digital transformation enhances competitiveness primarily when embedded within structured quality management, online reputation management, and smart governance practices, rather than through technological adoption alone. The study contributes to the literature by integrating digital transformation and tourism supply quality into a unified competitiveness framework tailored to developing economy contexts and provides practical guidance for policymakers and destination managers seeking inclusive and sustainable growth through quality-oriented digital strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Trends in the Digital Economy: Opportunities, Challenges, and Implications for Developing Countries)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 802 KB

Open AccessArticle

Digital Development Levels in the European Union: Measurement and Analysis

by Manuel de Maya Matallana, Olga García-Luque, María López-Martínez and Myriam Rodríguez-Pasquín

Economies 2026, 14(2), 58; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies14020058 - 12 Feb 2026

Viewed by 1165

Abstract

Digital transformation is a key driver of economic and social progress, and assessing its evolution is essential for guiding public policies. In the European Union (EU), until 2022 the European Commission published the quantitative values of the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI); however, it is no longer being published, which makes it difficult to compare the digitalisation process between Member States. This study proposes a new composite index, the DESI-DP2, constructed using the distance P2 methodology (DP2), which provides a synthetic and up to date measurement of the digitalisation levels in the twenty-seven EU countries in 2025, both at an aggregate term and by dimensions. The results reveal notable stability in the ranking of countries, with Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, and Sweden as persistent leaders, and Bulgaria and Romania among the most lagging countries. Moreover, although digitalisation is positively associated with human development, a high level of development alone is not sufficient to ensure strong digital performance. Finally, the study identifies a shift in the explanatory factors behind cross-country differences, from digital skills toward the digital transformation of the business sector, offering relevant insights for the design of public policies within the framework of the European Digital Decade. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Trends in the Digital Economy: Opportunities, Challenges, and Implications for Developing Countries)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Emerging Trends in the Digital Economy: Opportunities, Challenges, and Implications for Developing Countries

Share This Special Issue

Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Published Papers (7 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI