The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department and the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) are organizing a two-day inception conference to be held at the ADB Headquarters, Manila, Philippines on 5–6 December 2019.  The conference will cover the rise of digital platforms, catalyzing value-creating interactions between various groups of participants, either in two-sided markets where two distinct types of participants interact (e.g., ride-hailing apps and food delivery apps) or multi-sided markets such as Google—a search engine—that connect users, content providers, and advertisers. In particular, the presentations will be organized along the following topics:

  •  Concept, Scope, and Framework of Platform Economy;
  •  Benefits and Costs of Platform Economy: Evidence and Implications;
  •  The Emergence of Platform Economy: Issues, Challenges and Prospects; and
  •  The Future of Platform Economy: Lessons and Policy Options.
Digital technologies such as the internet have created powerful technologically enabled networks or marketplaces that significantly lowered the cost of acquiring and using information, thus, lowering transaction costs and production costs. With these reduced costs, the internet affects economic development in three major, interrelated ways (World Bank 2016):

  • Inclusion (search and information) - The internet can help overcome data gaps and information asymmetries. The emergence of e-commerce platforms, for example, has made it much easier for small producers to find and connect with customers and to sell even whether within national or overseas markets (that were not previously available to them). 
  • Efficiency (automation and coordination) - The internet also augments the factors of production.  It reduces the cost of existing transactions (e.g., inventory management), which significantly improves efficiency allowing firms to make better use of their capital and labor.  Higher efficiency can be experienced by different sectors of the economy from households, enterprises, industries, and the public sector. 
  • Innovation (scale economies and platforms) - the internet enhances innovation by enabling firms to exploit economies of scale through online platforms and services that compete with conventional business models, such as Facebook (in media), Amazon and Alibaba (in retail), Uber and Grab (in transport), and Airbnb (in lodging).

With the further growth of digital platforms, the following issues will require careful attention and analyses:

Competition: a) their network and scale effects; b) their effects on upstream and downstream industries; c) their impact on economic development through the participation of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSME); and d) the effect of digital divide as evident in the differences in access or usage.

Sectoral: a) their effect on the labor market, job matching, and labor protection; b) their effects on taxation through base erosion and profit shifting; c) their effects on the financial sector role of trade and digital trade policies; and d) their effects on public sector and the delivery of social services.

Security, privacy, and regulation-related: a) their effects on data privacy, consumer rights, and the required consumer education; b) issues of cyber-related crimes, money-laundering, and terrorism finance; c) how to manage intermediary liability such as copyright violations and counterfeit products, responsibility over moderating hate speech, libel and disinformation; and d) the type of legal framework and regulatory measures that are needed to manage these risks.

The Inception Conference on Challenges and Opportunities for the Platform Economy in Developing Asia to be held on 5–6 December 2019 in Manila, Philippines, will cover the rise of digital platforms, catalyzing value-creating interactions between various groups of participants, either in two-sided markets where two distinct types of participants interact or multi-sided markets that connect users, content providers, and advertisers.

Objectives:

Amid the proliferation of platform economy in our day-to-day life, there is a need to understand the breadth, scope, and impact of the platform economy in our economic life. This conference will gather leading academics, policymakers, and international organizations to discuss the scope, framework, measurement, and issues related to the platform economy. 

Target Participants

From ADB member countries:

  • policymakers
  • private sector
  • international organizations
  • government officials
  • think-tanks, institutes, academia, and centers of excellence
  • ADB staff and consultants