FR
The digital economy, which refers generally to all the economic and social activities made possible by the Internet and information and communication technologies (ICTs), has experienced unprecedented growth on the African continent over the past two decades, driven in particular by the dynamics of electronic commerce (UNCTAD, 2015)
According to the International Monetary Fund, by 2050, thanks to the development of new technologies, 12 of the 20 countries that will experience the largest economic booms in the world will be located on the African continent. This digital boom, which is clearly an opportunity for the development and international opening of the African continent, opens up new opportunities to accelerate the process of structural and digital transformation to achieve strong inclusive growth as a means of combating youth unemployment and significantly increasing the participation rate of the working-age population. Digital technology is therefore a real driver of growth and competitiveness for African countries. The main challenge for the economies of sub-Saharan Africa is to build the pillars for the foundation of an inclusive digital economy that embodies values, wealth and knowledge. To do this, decision-makers need reliable data and statistics. This requires innovative methods to produce and use data and statistics to properly assess the digital development process, understand the resulting socio-economic issues and its impact on people’s living conditions. The second edition of the International Conference on Statistics and Applied Economics (CISEA) focused on “Statistics and the Digital Economy”. In this sense, panels, sessions of presentations, discussions of research articles on statistics and the digital economy will provide an overview of recent research and economic policy recommendations. The aim is to achieve a digital transformation of the economies of sub-Saharan Africa in order to effectively combat the soaring unemployment rate in this region. Leading researchers recognized in the field around the world will make significant contributions. These are:
- Prof. Jean-Marie Dufour of McGill University;
- Prof. Rajnish Mehra of the University of Arizona;
- Prof. Victor Murinde of SOAS University of London;
- Prof. Eric Renault of Brown University / University of Warwick;
- Prof. Leonard Wantchekon of Princeton University. Dr. Albert Zeufack, Chief Economist of the World Bank, who will lead the inaugural conference on the theme: “Data transparency in the Digital Era
