| Abstract: |
This paper defines and examines the state of the digital economy in the United
Arab Emirates (UAE), highlighting the essential role played by digital
technologies in sustaining the economy and the people of the UAE through the
COVID-19 pandemic. In the years before the pandemic, the UAE invested heavily
through expenditures by government-related enterprises, private companies, and
households to establish the required broadband and wireless infrastructure and
devices necessary to push forward the digitalization of the economy. This has
enabled the rapid adoption of information and communication technologies
(ICTs) in the production and consumption of goods and services at the level of
the government, the private sector, and households. The paper takes stock of
the benefits drawn from digitalization as an enabling and disruptive force in
the development of the UAE economy and suggests some high-level policy
principles that inform the government policy agenda for inclusive ICT sector
development in the post-COVID-19 era |