The digital economy permeates the world economy. Information is flowing within and across borders with unprecedented pace and volume with significant impact on innovation, trade, global value chains and society as a whole. Few aspects of our lives remain untouched by digitalisation.

Meeting these challenges requires collaboration amongst all stakeholders – citizens, firms and governments - to develop new, economy wide approaches to digital economy policy development. On 21-23 June 2016, Ministers and stakeholders gathered in Cancún, Mexico, for the OECD Ministerial Meeting on the Digital Economy: Innovation, Growth and Social Prosperity, to move the digital agenda forward in four key policy areas foundational to the growth of the digital economy. Internet openness is high on policy agendas; digital trust needs to be strengthened; global connectivity is reaching an unprecedented scale, while jobs and skills are being radically transformed. #OECDdigitalMX • @OECDInnovation

Download the ministerial flyer

(also available in Spanish)

The 2016 Ministerial meeting built on two previous OECD Ministerial meetings on the digital economy:

• The 1998 OECD Ministerial Conference on Electronic Commerce in Ottawa which resulted in a global action plan for the development of e-commerce that targeted important policy areas such as privacy and consumer protection, and 

• The 2008 Ministerial Meeting on the Future of the Internet Economy in Seoul which recognised the essential nature and function of the Internet as a platform for growth and the need for governments to work with all stakeholders to guide its development. 

Cancún marked another pivotal point in the evolution of the digital economy. The OECD's work is continuing in 2017 and 2018 with the Going Digital project, which aims to give policymakers the tools they need to help their economies and societies prosper in this increasingly digital and data-driven world. 

• Download the declaration 
  (also available in Spanish)
• Agenda (also available in Spanish)
• Meeting summary
• Closing remarks by OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría

 Press releases

• Launch of the Latin American Broadband Toolkit, 21 June 2016
• Opening of the Digital Economy Ministerial, 22 June 2016
• Review of Open Government Data, 22 June 2016

Digital Economy Data Highlights

(also available in Spanish)

Click for more in our special digital economy edition of the OECD Observer.