Public Policies in the Age of Digital Disruption

As in previous industrial revolutions, there is nothing inevitable or predetermined about the effects of the digital revolution. Its consequences on productivity, consumption, employment, inequality, and other determinants of social welfare will depend on the design and implementation of public policies for the management of the technological transformation of our societies. Governments, firms, and workers need efficient, coherent, and comprehensive strategies subject to permanent evaluation that make the most of the opportunities offered by new technologies in key areas such as human capital, the labor market, competition, and the regulation of goods and services markets, as well as a redesign of the welfare state and a new social contract to reduce inequality. The success of these policies will determine the extent to which our societies will be able to increase productivity, create employment, and grow in an inclusive manner, thereby increasing social welfare.