Leapfrog Strategies for Thailand’s Digital Development

Abstract

Don Tapscott first introduced the term “digital economy” in 1994 when the Internet was still a novelty, with his book ‘The Digital Economy: Promise and Peril in the Age of Networked Intelligence’. In a little over two decades since 1994, the digital economy now constitutes a significant and growing part of the overall economy. In a forthcoming publication, Oxford Economics estimates that the digital economy is now worth US$11.5 trillion globally, equivalent to 15.5% of global GDP. The Internet has become a pervasive phenomenon, disrupting multiple industries, creating new business models and becoming a powerful force in its own right. Digital technologies, being general purpose technologies, are transforming our economies and societies as profoundly as the steam engine in the 18^th century or electricity in the 19^th.

The Government of Thailand recognizes the significance of the digital economy and created a Ministry for Digital Economy and Society in 2016. It has developed a National Digital Economy Masterplan with a 20-year time horizon, divided into four phases. These include laying the digital foundations, achieving digital inclusion, moving to full transformation, and finally achieving the status of global digital leadership. It has launched initiatives like Digital Thailand, Thailand 4.0 and a special program for developing the Eastern Economic Corridor (including a digital park and a University 4.0).