WTO Public Forum 2018: Impact of platform economy and digital trade on economic distribution

Impact of platform economy and digital trade on economic distribution
Event start date
Event end date
Event venue
Geneva
Organiser details

IT for Change

UNI Global Union

Digital platforms are rewiring the global economy, fundamentally shifting how we socialize, work, buy, sell and consume. Being organized globally, most of these platforms directly impinge on global trade, and vice versa. The proposed session will address the multiple policy challenges that platforms, and global trade around them, present for workers’ rights, consumer rights, livelihood rights of small producers, the political and data rights of the citizen, the collective rights of marginalized communities, and the right to development and equitable trade for countries at the margins of globalized economies. Of special importance is to examine how, while improving economic efficiencies and therefore productivity, platforms impact economic distribution. Bringing their experience from diverse backgrounds in research, policy making and advocacy, Panellists will explore policies that promote digital platformization in various sectors in developing countries in a manner that also ensures economic justice for all the involved actors.

Panellists: 

Rashmi Banga, Senior Economic Affairs Officer & Officer-in-Charge in the Unit of Economic Cooperation and Integration among Developing Countries, UNCTAD 

Christina Colclough, Director, Uniglobal 

Anita Gurumurthy, Executive Director, IT for Change 

Richard Hill, President, Association for Proper Internet Governance (APIG)

Moderator: 

Parminder Jeet Singh, Executive Director, IT for Change 

Read the session report here.