Government as a Digital Standard Bearer

This article explores the key role the government can play in promoting the digital economy through the uptake of global digital standards. The potential of digital standards can be illustrated by the revolutionary impact in the 20th century of the introduction of barcodes on logistics, and the impact of standardised containers in accelerating the growth of world trade and global economic integration. In the 21st century, will digital platforms and standards play a similar role in enabling economic development in the information age? The key challenge in the digital standards space is for the government to find the sweet spot that is the equivalent of the Goldilocks zone – neither too hot nor too cold: this is where the government acts as a digital standard bearer – establishing the overall regulatory regime and then acting as an agile fast follower, not the leader getting out in front or going alone.