Digitialized Economic Interactions in the Global South: In Search of a New Research Agenda

The term “new economies” refers to the ongoing technological changes that are reshaping the world and work organization, such as smart manufacturing, big data, artificial intelligence, the sharing economy, and digital currency. New economies can generate new forms of inequalities, control, exploitation, and increasing surveillance despite the acclaimed advancement in societies. This session explores social consequences of new economies and calls for concrete cases analysis globally with special interests to non-western countries by responding to the following questions, among others:

(1) What constitutes the new economies in your region/country and their dynamics? How do the current transformations affect the various sociological concepts we use to study economic life and activities? Can current concepts explain the transformations? Or what new concepts could better explain the changes associated with the new economies?

(2) The social consequences of the transformation. Some possible examples are: What are the new forms of inequality, exploitation and control resulting from the contradiction between decentralized ICT technology and increased centralized surveillance by authorities? How has the current digital transformation (digital currency) transformed financial relationship in societies, especially in the global south?

(3) Challenges for the new economies on development in the global south: The innovation in the ICT sector and digitalization and the emphasis on sectoral transformation from an industrial to a service or knowledge economy have led to changes in work organization but also to possible premature deindustrialization in the global south. What are the implications of these changes in relation to development?