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Research project

Improving competitiveness and regulatory environment for digital economy in developing member countries (DMCs)

As part of its ongoing work to support evidence-based policymaking on digital trade, the Digital Trade Integration (DTI) project is contributing to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded initiative titled 'Digital Trade Regulatory Review for Selected Developing Member Countries'. This collaboration aims to strengthen the understanding of ADB developing member countries (DMCs) of the role and impact of regulatory regimes in the digital economy.

This project is funded by the Asian Development Bank

The project identifies regulatory gaps in digital trade and investment, evaluates their economic implications, and formulates policy recommendations. As part of this effort, the DTI team is updating and expanding its database to include ten developing member countries with a particular focus on their alignment with international standards in key areas such as data privacy, cross-border data flows, competition policy, public procurement, foreign direct investment, and intellectual property rights. The first countries included and already available in the DTI open-access dataset are Bangladesh, Georgia, and Mongolia. By June 2025, the dataset will also include Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste.

As part of the project, the DTI team will work on assessing how different pillars of digital trade integration influence economic performance and conducting in-depth analyses of key sectors, particularly services, in relation to digital readiness and regulatory coherence.

The team

Group members

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