Analysis of the interaction of digital commerce policy: conclusions from the digital services trade restrictiveness index

The paper analyses the Digital Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (DSTRI) in 2022, focusing on OECD and non-OECD countries. The DSTRI encompasses vital areas of digital commerce policy, including Infrastructure and Connectivity (Inf_C), Electronic Transactions (ET), Payment System (PS), Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), and other barriers affecting digitally enabled service trade (OBATiDES). Utilizing Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, the study explores the relationships between these components to understand the dynamics of digital commerce policy. The findings reveal weak positive correlations between developed Payment Systems and Infrastructure and Connectivity and between stringent Intellectual Property Rights and increased digital trade barriers, emphasizing the role of digital modernization trends and regulatory philosophies in shaping these relationships. Conversely, the study finds no significant correlation between digital infrastructure and electronic transaction regulations or between electronic transactions and payment systems. These results underscore digital commerce policy's complex, multifaceted, and often nonlinear nature, highlighting that advancements in one area sometimes correspond to progress in other areas. The study contributes to understanding digital commerce policies' interconnectedness and the diverse factors influencing their development, including technological advancements, market forces, legal traditions, and socio-political influences.