Digital economy has power and potential to expand innovation，increase consumer choices and enhance human well-being. Digital economy experienced exponential growth. New possibilities will arise with new technologies and business models.

At the same time，there are cautionary voices. The World Bank’s 2016 World Development Report，Digital Dividends，noted that the benefits of Internet growth were neither as huge nor as evenly distributed as it has often claimed. According to the report，the gap between the commitments of digital technology and its real impact was widening. For example，increase of productivity was only 2% in the digital era compared to 6% in previous innovations of electricity and transportation.

Similar warnings were found in other publications，such as the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2018，which recognized that the fourth industrial revolution has made the pathway to development less certain. One of the most concerning findings in the report was the relative weakness across the board when we came to master the innovation process. 77 out of the 140 economic studies showed，innovation ability-an imperative skill to thrive in the digital economy-was the weakest pillar.

With the increasing penetration of digital technologies in societies worldwide，digital economy has gradually become just “economy”. For example，WTO’s definition of e-commerce covers a wide range of economic transactions，from paying for a dinner electronically with a credit card，to ordering a book online and having it delivered by mail，and to subscribing in Spotify music platform.

The growth of inclusive digital economy requires policies and regulations to simulate solutions. Governance of digital economy is a mixture of applying existing rules and developing new ones. It also needs to provide the necessary support for the key drivers of innovation boom. This includes strengthening institutions-for example，through promoting the public sector and corporate governance-to foster diversity of thinking and reskilling among the workforce，and to promote the integration of those who are still on the fringes of the banking system into the financial system.

A challenge for governments worldwide is that they need to become multi-taskers：the needed policies for the digital economic boom cannot be set in sequence，but in parallel. A country that lacks sufficient broadband infrastructure，for example，cannot focus all its resources in this area，and completely abandon development in other areas，such as cloud computing. The exact allocation and distribution of resources in different policy areas will be unique to each country，reflecting its needs and stages of development. Nevertheless，all elements of this digital equation are inseparable from attention and investment.

Potential tensions lie between traditional economic policies that include financial transactions between consumers and service producers，and technology advertising models where there is no direct financial transaction between service users and technology companies. Instead of money，users contribute his or her data，which are processed by technology companies and sold to advertising agencies.

This tension was evident in the case of Best Maps Ever，a French mapping provider，versus Google Maps for below-cost pricing. Best Maps Ever argued that Google did not charge for maps as it does，but the French Competition Authority argued that Google did not provide services below-cost because it is compensated from advertising revenues. The case was dismissed.2448012 Similar economic policy strains exist in the fields of consumer protection and taxation.

Additional tensions lie between the global nature of most digital businesses and national or regional digital policies and governance. For example，antitrust remedy decisions in one region may force technical or policy adjustments in other regions. Privacy regulations，such as GDPR，forces other regions to adjust their policies. Taxation is another example of the state trying to tax the profits of thatch companies on their territories.

In this globalized economy，policy makers usually focus on big technology companies and internet giants. However，the digital economy is dominated by small-and medium-sized enterprises（SMEs）. They represent more than 90% of companies and employ more than 70% of the workforce in most countries. The health of the SMEs sector is a litmus test for the vitality of any economy，including the digital one. Therefore，the theme of this section is policies and solutions to ensure market space for SMEs.