LA TRANSFORMACIÓN DIGITAL DE LA ECONOMÍA ESPAÑOLA

Iberoamérica. 2022. No. 3. P. 85–109.

Sidorenko T.

The article deals with the first outcomes of the Spanish economy`s digital transformation strategy. The document was undertaken by the government in July 2020 in a bid to speed up the process due to the European Union`s lagging behind the United States and China. The Spanish government is sure that digitalization could be a toggle to help ensure economic growth, reduce inequality, increase labor productivity and employment in the post-COVID time. The government`s efforts, supported by the European Union`s hefty funding, have improved the position Spain holds in the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI). However, there is an array of considerable hurdles and hardships, which thwart Spain from achieving its digital transformation goals. One should mention the lack of digital talent; skimpy investment in R&D, including digital R&D; slow deployment 5G`s infrastructure; unpreparedness of small and medium-sized enterprises (basis of the country's production structure) for making use of digital technologies; remaining territorial and socio-economic “digital gaps”. Geopolitical tensions in the world also have a negative impact on the government's economic policy.

Keywords: экономическая политика, информационно-коммуникационные технологии, Испания, Spain, economic policy, information and communication technologies, цифровая трансформация, digital transformation, Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), “digital gaps”, Индекс цифровой экономики и общества (DESI), «цифровые» пробелы»