Definitions & Glossary

The portion of economic output derived from digital technologies, data, and the internet. Includes e-commerce, digital services, platform businesses, and data-driven value creation.

An economic system where digital platforms serve as intermediaries connecting different user groups (producers, consumers, service providers). Network effects drive value creation.

A phenomenon where a product or service becomes more valuable as more people use it. The value increase is exponential relative to the number of users (Metcalfe's Law).

Market structure where the dominant firm captures a disproportionate share of value and market share, often 50-90% of total market. Common in platform and network-driven industries.

Principle stating that the value of a network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users (V = n²). Demonstrates exponential value growth with user base.

The physical and logical networks enabling digital services: subsea cables, fiber backbones, data centers, cloud regions, and edge nodes. Infrastructure performance determines latency, resilience, and sovereignty capabilities.

The eight-stage value chain from raw materials to advanced chipsets. Complex global process: raw materials → purification → equipment manufacturing → chip design → fabrication → advanced packaging → testing → distribution.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company controls approximately 90% of the global market for advanced logic chips (7nm and below).

NVIDIA's overwhelming market share (92%) in AI accelerators, particularly GPUs essential for large language model training.

Essential raw materials for digital infrastructure: rare earth elements, lithium, cobalt, copper. Geographic concentration creates supply vulnerability.

Facilities housing servers, storage systems, and computing infrastructure for cloud services. 8,500+ globally, concentrated in US (45%), EU (25%), Asia-Pacific growing.

Next-generation wireless networks enabling ultra-low latency, high bandwidth connectivity. 5G deployment underway globally; 6G in research phase targeting 2030s.

Underwater fiber-optic cables carrying 99% of intercontinental internet traffic. Critical chokepoints create geopolitical vulnerabilities.

Market dominance of top 3 cloud providers: AWS (31%), Microsoft Azure (20%), Google Cloud (11%). Remaining 38% split among Alibaba, Oracle, IBM, and others.

Situation where customers become dependent on a vendor's products/services, making switching to competitors difficult or costly due to proprietary formats or integration.

Economic analysis of multi-sided platforms connecting different user groups. Value creation through network effects, data aggregation, and ecosystem orchestration.

Cross-border exchange of goods, services, and data enabled by digital platforms. Includes digital services, cloud computing, streaming, and online marketplaces.

Technology-driven transformation of financial services including digital payments, mobile banking, blockchain, and decentralized finance (DeFi).

Persistent inequality in access to digital infrastructure, technology, and digital literacy, creating economic disadvantage for underserved populations.

Ecological impact of digital infrastructure: 7% of global electricity consumption, 2.1-3.9% of greenhouse gas emissions, 62 million tons of e-waste annually. Data centers consume >480 TWh annually.

Security risks and attacks targeting digital infrastructure: 220+ major breaches (2023), 2.5+ billion exposed records, average $8 million cost per breach. Systems and protocols protecting digital assets, industrial control, and critical infrastructure.

Strategic tensions and vulnerabilities: US-China tech decoupling, export controls on semiconductors, supply chain reshoring, digital sovereignty disputes. Strategic dependencies in global supply chains create heightened resilience, security, and policy exposure.

Frameworks for responsible AI development and deployment, addressing bias, transparency, accountability, and societal impact. Compute equity, public AI resources, and ethical deployment are core priorities.

Rong (2022) five-dimensional model: Infrastructure, Business-to-Business (B2B) platforms, Consumer (to-C) platforms, Data Ecosystem, Economic contexts. Comprehensive framework for digital economy analysis.

Zhang et al. (2023) hierarchical model: Level 1 (Technology) → Level 2 (Innovation) → Level 3 (Governance). Structures digital economy from foundational technology through policy implementation.

Critical gap: Lack of universally accepted definitions and standardized metrics for digital economy size, making cross-country comparisons problematic.

Composite indices measuring digital economy maturity across countries. DESI (EU focus), NRI (global), DEDI (emerging markets). Multi-dimensional aggregation with weighted scoring.

Absence of comprehensive legal frameworks: data privacy, platform monopolies, algorithmic accountability, data sovereignty conflicts. Regulations lag technological change.

Insufficient research on leveraging digital technologies for environmental goals. Digital circular economy mechanisms and sustainability transitions under-explored.