Pakistan's place in Digital Economy Market.

Byline: Yasin Joyia

Historically, the areas that are part of the present Pakistan always have been connectors in west to east movements of armies, trade, and crafts. Now, again Pakistan is becoming a centre of a new kind of trade, from north to south and east to west in all directions, with the implementation of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor initiative. But let us examine another rapidly emerging world's economic system called Digital Economy.

The industrialised world is making a tectonic shift to the Digital Economy, that has ripple effects on the world economy in general by creating digital 'have' and 'have-not' countries and populations, especially in the developing world.

Muscle Power Economy (Human or Animal): Many argue that rapid developments first started with domestication of animals. The domestication of work animals morphed into the farming revolution around 8000 BC. As a result, plentiful and reliable food sources became available to human settlements, which then became cities. For many thousands of years, humanity was on a very gradual upward trajectory. Progress was achingly slow and almost invisible. But just over 200 years ago, something sudden and profound arrived and bent the curve of human history.

Industrial Economy or First Machine Age: The invention of the steam engine, which was developed and improved during the second half of the 18th century, was the dawn of the modern industrial age. The steam engine allowed us to overcome the limitations of muscle power, human, and animal, and generate massive amounts of useful energy at will. This led to factories, and mass production, to railways, and mass transportation. Naturally as a result, it led to modern life, ushering in humanity's first machine age- it was the most profound time of transformation time in our human history.

The developed world is already free from developing the basic industrial infrastructure, and can focus on moving rapidly into the digital economy. At present, the developing world is just embarking upon the industrial development phase to catch up with the developed world

Digital Economy or Second Machine Age: Computers and other digital advances are doing to mental power, the ability to use our brains to understand and shape our environments, what the steam engine did for muscle power. For now, mental power is at least as important for progress and development to empower ourselves to get thing done. Digitisation is the work of turning all...