Digital Economy and Sustainable Development Path in Selected Asian Countries

This study examined the relationship between the digital economy and sustainable development (SD) path, by using panel data analyses on a sample of ten Asian countries from 2005 until 2018. We employed the indicator of Adjusted Net Saving (ANS) rate to proxy the SD path. Digital economy variables were represented by the number of mobile cellular subscriptions (MOBS) and the internet subscriptions as a percentage of the population (INT); while the inflation rate (INF) posits as the control economic variable. From the Generalized Least Square-Fixed Effect (GLS-FE) method, there was a strong significant relationship between the digital economy and the SD path. Both MOBS and INT were the most significant factors which positively influenced the SD path, while the INT showed a contradict effect. Similar to the effect on economic growth, the digital economy had also brought a positive impact on SD in general. Therefore, it is recommended that policies to develop the digital economy in Asian countries should be enacted to sustain economic growth and development. Amid the coronavirus outbreak that heavily impacted the Asian economies, policymakers should begin coordinating the nature and timing of national measures in response to the global economic crisis.