The digital economy could be an important new growth driver

According to domestic and international experts, in the context of traditional growth drivers gradually being exhausted, the digital economy can become an important new growth driver.

The 6th International Conference on Contemporary Issues in Economics, Management and Business took place on November 23-24 at the National Economics University, Hanoi . This is considered a good opportunity for domestic and international experts to exchange and discuss frankly the latest contemporary issues in economics, management and business.

This is one of the annual activities and in 2023, the Organizing Committee received more than 150 research papers from scholars, researchers, policymakers, and lecturers from Vietnam and many countries around the world such as Australia, Czech Republic, Canada, France, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Through a rigorous assessment of research theory and methods, more than 80 papers were selected to be presented in 22 simultaneous discussion sessions in a variety of fields such as accounting, finance, banking, business administration, development economics, macroeconomics, marketing, science and technology, and microeconomics. This is also an opportunity for researchers and policymakers to share the latest findings and build dialogue on research in progress.

This 6th conference has the sharing of 3 international representatives including: Professor Ippei Fujiwara, Australian National University with the topic "Building a Vietnamese economic model"; Professor Peter J. Morgan, Asian Development Bank Institute with the topic "Fintech, financial inclusion and financial literacy: What we know"; Professor Roman Matousek, Queen Mary University of London with the topic "Financial fragility after the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons from developed economies."

At the same time, there were exchanges and discussions by 3 speakers: Dr. Pham Hung Hiep, Director of the REK Research and Knowledge Exchange Institute, Thanh Do University, Vietnam; Dr. Duong Hai Long, Director of Data Science, FuturProof Technologies Company, USA and Associate Professor Dr. Binh Bui from Macquarie University, Australia spoke at the high-level discussion with the topic "Experience and strategies in publishing articles in prestigious international journals".

Prof. Dr. Pham Hong Chuong, President of the National Economics University, emphasized that the articles in the Conference will have the opportunity to be published in partner journals listed in ISI and Scopus. "We will have a Special Publication for the Conference in partner journals: Thailand and World Economy (Scopus) and Journal of Economics and Development (published by Emerald). In particular, from the extensive knowledge of the speakers and researchers, I believe that we will have more complete knowledge in contemporary issues of economics, management, and business..." - Prof. Dr. Pham Hong Chuong said.

Financial risks increase after COVID-19 pandemic

Sharing about the global economic context, Professor Roman Matousek, Queen Mary University of London (UK) emphasized that an era is being marked by recurring financial crises that economists call “Minsky moments”.

Named after economist Hyman Minsky, the “Minsky moment” refers to the end of an economic boom and bust cycle and the end of a long period of cheap money in many countries. The sudden collapse of financial markets occurs during a period when the economy is heavily indebted. The global financial crisis of 2007-2008 is also considered a Minsky moment, triggered by the collapse of the US subprime mortgage market. At that turning point, any destabilizing event such as rising interest rates could force investors to sell assets to raise cash to repay debts, thereby triggering a crisis in the market.

Professor Roman Matousek said that although the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic have different origins, the COVID-19 crisis has also caused a sudden shutdown of the global economy, inflation is getting out of control. Due to COVID-19, government deficits are at their highest level in history.

According to records, global debt, including government, corporate and household debt, reached a record high of 307,000 billion USD in the first half of 2023. According to this expert, the average government debt burden of emerging markets and middle-income countries will exceed 78% of GDP in 2028, compared to just over 53% a decade earlier.

“Many smaller emerging markets are facing a silent debt crisis as they grapple with the impact of high US interest rates on their already fragile finances,” said Roman Matousek.

Faced with the crisis and signs of increasing global financial instability risks, the performance of businesses and households has declined, banks have faced increased credit risks, and high bad debt ratios. High interest rates have also increased the debt burden for many countries. In this context, the global economy has declined and the Vietnamese economy cannot avoid negative impacts.

Meanwhile, Professor Peter J. Morgan, Asian Development Bank Institute (ABDI), emphasized that fintech is changing finance in fundamental ways, from investment management to capital mobilization to the form of money itself. Fintech companies have removed barriers and expanded access to financial services and challenged the traditional understanding of how finance works.

Vietnam promotes digital economy to increase labor productivity

Within the framework of the 6th International Conference on Contemporary Issues in Economics, Management and Business, experts assessed that the digital economy has a very strong impact on enhancing the competitiveness of the economy as well as the labor productivity of enterprises. Because in the 4.0 industrial revolution, economic growth is no longer too dependent on resource advantages, geopolitics or human resources, but on labor productivity based on the digital economy and digital platforms.

According to calculations by the General Statistics Office, a 1 VND increase in the output of the information technology product manufacturing industry will stimulate other industries in the economy to increase by 0.3 VND; a 1 VND increase in the output of the media and digital content industry will stimulate other industries to increase output by 0.39 VND; a 1 VND increase in the output of the information technology service industry will increase the output of other industries by 0.28 VND.

Experts say that digital economy, digital transformation, and digital society increasingly rely on information technology, artificial intelligence, and big data, but people are still the center and the deciding factor. Otherwise, no matter how advanced technology is equipped or how much artificial intelligence develops, it will not be possible to increase labor productivity and efficiency.

Like many countries in the world, Vietnam's population is undergoing profound changes in age distribution with the demographic transition. It is forecasted that in 2035 - 2037, Vietnam will enter a period of population aging. Therefore, many opinions believe that right now, if people are not equipped with knowledge and work in a digital environment with rapidly changing technology, when entering population aging, there will be a serious labor shortage, negatively affecting the stability and development of the economy and society.

On this occasion, Prof. Dr. To Thanh Trung, Head of the Department of Science Management, National Economics University said: "At the workshop, many speakers and experts discussed and shared research on digital economy and found that digital economy has a very strong impact on enhancing the competitiveness of the economy, as well as the labor productivity of enterprises". And, "Digital economy is currently one of the very important growth drivers of the economy, especially when the traditional growth drivers are gradually exhausted", Mr. Trung emphasized./.

dangcongsan.vn

Source link