It’s impossible to ignore the millions of daily online transactions and the way online technology has changed consumer habits across the globe. The contentious issue is the degree to which it has destroyed value in other areas of the economy – the decline of the UK high street (or 'Main Street' in the US) provides an obvious example. However, research from McKinsey reveals that most of the economic value the internet creates falls outside of the technology sector: companies in more traditional industries capture 75 per cent of the benefits.
In a relatively short space of time, the internet has become a critical element of progress, pushing a sizable portion of economic growth. Internet usage and internet expenditure are correlated with higher growth in GDP per capita. So its roll-out across developing nations is now seen by agencies such as the World Bank as a strategic imperative. In September, the United Nations hosted a summit on Sustainable Development Goals where the further spread of information and communications technology was cited as a key trigger to accelerate human progress.
