The Role of the digital economy in some human development indicators – Iraq Case Study.

Abstract

The research focused on the fact that the digital economy, and the economy based on the use of information technology and modern means of communication, is one of the results of the communications and information technology revolution or the fourth industrial revolution, and among the areas most affected by the digital transformation are the areas of human development such as education and health, and education has become digital in completely new forms as well as health, which has become digital and depends on the Internet and modern means of communication. The research was launched with the idea that the development in the digital economy has led to the development of all areas of the economy in general and in particular human development and its variables and indicators, and this change was accompanied by positive and negative effects and faced many difficulties in general and in particular in the studied application environment (Iraq). The research problem is represented in answering the following question: Can the desired changes from the digital economy be effective in human development and its indicators in the studied application environment (Iraq)?

The research aimed to identify the nature of the digital economy and study its various aspects and know its positive effects on human development by studying Iraq's experience in this field and setting basic principles as a starting point that supports the process of digital transformation, and determining the role of the digital economy in improving education, its services and health facilities. The research is based on the hypothesis that since the digital economy is the most important and recent development in the global economy and has steady effects on human development and its indicators, and since this role faced challenges and difficulties, especially in the chosen application environment (Iraq), this role at the beginning had positive and negative repercussions and later developed into an important and positive role in human development and its indicators. The research reached a set of related conclusions and recommendations that were consistent with the research objectives and hypothesis. The most important conclusion was the weakness of the information and communications technology infrastructure in Iraq, which leads to the reflection of this weakness on the digital economy in Iraq as a result of economic and political mismanagement. The most important recommendation was to develop and disseminate digital technologies, taking into account their positive effects in the context of the common ambition to achieve digital transformation to achieve development goals, provided that the information and communications technology sector is viewed according to its impact on all economic sectors and work to stimulate the digital economy to increase its contribution to the global gross domestic product