Three major levers for Digital Nation

Three major levers for Digital Nation

Three main levers for Digital Nation are digital human resources; expansive investment environment of technology, cooperation; and tax policy.

It is shared by Mr. Konstantin Matthies, Microfinance Specialist, AlphaBeta Foreign Affairs Director at the seminar "Digital nation: Policy Levers for Investment and Growth" organized by the Central Institute for Economic Management in cooperation with the Australian Support for Economic Reform (Aus4Refrom) program last month in Hanoi.

On digital human resources, it is important for policymakers to have a orientation to shift from career thinking to skill-based thinking. In the digital economy, vocational skills are not limited to a specific occupation but can be applied to other occupations.

With AlphaBeta's research, a person trained for a certain job, they actually acquired the needed skills of an average of 13 other occupations. But if just thinking about a certain career or sector, most people will just consider a part of them.

Evidence from India shows that having digital skills can increase average income by up to 30%, applied for all industries. "With the tremendous success that Vietnam has achieved in education over the years, the development of thinking about skills and the labor market seems to be the next step needed to be taken," emphasized Konstantin Matthies.

Mr. Konstantin Matthies, Microfinance Specialist, AlphaBeta Foreign Affairs Director

The second lever, the investment environment, countries can utilize multinational companies in driving and transfering technology, or appeal them to be "patrons." These companies have the capacity to invest in infrastructure, talent, and start-up businesses in the country and can signal to investors that the market is ready for the next digital development phase. .

"The technology investment environment should also be open and cooperative, supporting businesses to make sure they invest, which will help the ecosystem grow. It is very important to support and promote technology transfer and information exchange," KonstantinMatthies added.

About tax policy, consistency and transparency are core issues and far more important than tax rates. The sudden changes in taxes or tariffs will discourage investors because it brings unpredictability and risk to businesses in developing business strategies.

"Such tax policies will not be able to attract foreign businesses and investors, and may even cause domestic firms to set up businesses in other countries," said AlphaBeta.