{
  "title": "Shaping a Data Economy",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2020/12/shaping-a-data-economy-wef-sonmez",
  "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2020/12/shaping-a-data-economy-wef-sonmez",
  "overlayPath": "/en/publications/fandd/issues/2020/12/shaping-a-data-economy-wef-sonmez/index.md",
  "summary": "The world needs a new system of governance for the buying and selling of data, writes Murat Sonmez of the World Economic Forum.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Harnessing data’s economic power and the Fourth Industrial Revolution",
      "content": "- Data fuels AI, precision medicine, robotics, and the Internet of Things and will determine the success or failure of the 4IR.\n- Technology adoption accelerated during the global pandemic:\n  - \"More than 80 percent of business executives are accelerating plans to digitalize work processes and deploy new technologies.\"\n  - \"By 2025, employers will divide work equally between humans and machines.\"\n- The valuation of technology companies demonstrates data’s economic value; a transparent and equitable mechanism could unlock value for individuals and organizations while protecting privacy."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Four-tiered \"data operating system\" (data OS) — core policy recommendations",
      "content": "- Reimagine notice and consent mechanisms:\n  - Allow owners of data to specify purposes, duration, and payment rights.\n  - Attach rules to data sets (analogous to media digital rights management) so data \"cannot be used out of bounds.\"\n- Certification mechanism for applications using data sets:\n  - Certify data-mining algorithms and applications via a trusted agency (a 4IR \"app store\") for compliance with consent protocols and restrictions.\n- Transparent mechanism for valuation of data:\n  - Treat data as a tradable asset; use market forces to price it for specific uses.\n  - Recognize that data can be used repeatedly and for a variety of purposes, unlike single-use commodities.\n- Cross-border data flow and digital remittance mechanism:\n  - Countries could form bilateral treaties to share data for agreed purposes and pool data assets via a secure mechanism.\n  - Facilitate cross-border payments digitally, ensure timely payment to owners, and align taxation: owners pay taxes on income received; users pay taxes at consumption in their jurisdictions."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Expected benefits and systemic effects",
      "content": "- Continuous income stream for individuals from data.\n- Companies can mark-to-market data assets on balance sheets, creating assets benefiting stakeholders.\n- Early detection and prevention: the data OS could \"reverse-engineer breakdowns and glitches before they occur,\" alerting to risks and guiding responses.\n- If designed correctly, the system could boost economic growth and minimize negative societal impacts."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Case study 1 — Treating rare diseases",
      "content": "- Scope and challenge:\n  - \"Worldwide, 400 million are affected by a rare disease, more than cancer and AIDS combined.\"\n  - \"There are 7,000 identified rare diseases so far.\"\n  - National research approaches fall short due to limited national pools of data and lack of cross-border awareness of treatments.\n- Opportunity in genomic testing:\n  - \"With an estimated 15.2 million people expected to have clinical genomic testing for a rare condition within the next five years,\" a global sharing system is urgent.\n- Technical and governance solution:\n  - Federated database system: autonomous databases interconnect without merging; users access voluntarily shared information through a uniform interface while each data set remains under local control and security.\n- Risks and safeguards:\n  - Weak genomic data policies risk extraction and misuse of genetic and biological information.\n  - Ethical policies, regulations, and standards are needed to support research and guard against abuses.\n- Conclusion: \"A federated data system ticks all four boxes of the data OS and has the potential to accelerate benefits safely and to all of society.\""
    },
    {
      "heading": "Case study 2 — Feeding the world (agriculture and food systems)",
      "content": "- Scale of the food challenge:\n  - \"Current unsustainable agricultural practices could lead to the degradation of 95 percent of the world’s land by 2050.\"\n  - \"Some 2 billion people do not have access to safe, nutritious, and adequate food.\"\n- Examples of AI in agriculture and food:\n  - Prospera collects \"50 million data points from 4,700 fields every day\" to identify pest and disease outbreaks and improve yields, reduce pollution, and eliminate waste.\n  - NotCo and Fazenda Futuro use AI to develop plant-based meats; Firmenich introduced \"the world’s first flavor made entirely with AI.\"\n  - Meat production accounts for \"almost 50 percent of the world’s agricultural emissions.\"\n- Policy implication:\n  - Data trapped behind borders limits global solutions; a data OS and defined data ownership could enable cross-border scaling and financial rewards for data sharing."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Case study 3 — Building trust with blockchain and distributed ledgers",
      "content": "- Trust is fundamental for cross-border and cross-industry data use; authenticity and integrity of data are essential.\n- Blockchain/distributed ledger characteristics:\n  - Tamper-proof time-stamped transactions, peer-to-peer security, transparency, smart contracts, and tokens.\n- Practical pilots and applications:\n  - StaTwig piloted blockchain to track vaccine deliveries to children.\n  - Anheuser-Busch InBev used blockchain in Zambia for transparent pricing of locally sourced crops such as cassava.\n  - Colombia is exploring blockchain to improve oversight in public procurement and reduce corruption.\n- Role: Blockchain is a promising platform to ensure data is trustworthy and accurate, enabling broader expansion of data uses."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Governance, inclusivity, and the path forward",
      "content": "- 4IR technologies are evolving without guidelines; future-oriented, enabling policies are required.\n- Multi-stakeholder cooperation needed: government officials, business leaders, civil society, and international organizations.\n- By acting now and adopting the data OS framework, governments can:\n  - Keep economies competitive.\n  - Boost citizens’ well-being.\n  - Build trust and accelerate beneficial progress.\n  - Support a sustainable recovery that provides fair access to global market opportunities.\n\nShaping a Data Economy — Murat Sonmez, F&D Magazine, December 2020\n\n---\n\n Content in this bundle\n\n- تشكيل اقتصاد البيانات\n  - تشكيل اقتصاد البيانات (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n  - تشكيل اقتصاد البيانات (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n- Impulsar la economía de datos ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Diciembre de 2020\n  - Impulsar la economía de datos ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Diciembre de 2020 (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n  - Impulsar la economía de datos ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Diciembre de 2020 (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n- Définir le cadre d’une économie des données\n  - Définir le cadre d’une économie des données (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n  - Définir le cadre d’une économie des données (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n- Shaping a Data Economy – IMF F&D\n  - Shaping a Data Economy – IMF F&D (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n  - Shaping a Data Economy – IMF F&D (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n- 打造数字经济新高地 - 金融与发展 - 国际货币基金组织季刊\n  - 打造数字经济新高地 - 金融与发展 - 国际货币基金组织季刊 (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n  - 打造数字经济新高地 - 金融与发展 - 国际货币基金组织季刊 (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n\n---\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2020/12/shaping-a-data-economy-wef-sonmez"
    }
  ],
  "bullets": [
    "[Markdown version](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2020/12/shaping-a-data-economy-wef-sonmez/index.md)",
    "[Structured JSON version](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2020/12/shaping-a-data-economy-wef-sonmez/index.json)",
    "[Bundle manifest](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2020/12/shaping-a-data-economy-wef-sonmez/bundle-manifest.json)",
    "Authors: MURAT SONMEZ",
    "Published: December 1, 2020",
    "Data fuels AI, precision medicine, robotics, and the Internet of Things and will determine the success or failure of the 4IR.",
    "Technology adoption accelerated during the global pandemic:",
    "The valuation of technology companies demonstrates data’s economic value; a transparent and equitable mechanism could unlock value for individuals and organizations while protecting privacy.",
    "Reimagine notice and consent mechanisms:",
    "Certification mechanism for applications using data sets:",
    "Transparent mechanism for valuation of data:",
    "Cross-border data flow and digital remittance mechanism:",
    "Continuous income stream for individuals from data.",
    "Companies can mark-to-market data assets on balance sheets, creating assets benefiting stakeholders.",
    "Early detection and prevention: the data OS could \"reverse-engineer breakdowns and glitches before they occur,\" alerting to risks and guiding responses.",
    "If designed correctly, the system could boost economic growth and minimize negative societal impacts.",
    "Scope and challenge:",
    "Opportunity in genomic testing:",
    "Technical and governance solution:",
    "Risks and safeguards:",
    "Conclusion: \"A federated data system ticks all four boxes of the data OS and has the potential to accelerate benefits safely and to all of society.\"",
    "Scale of the food challenge:",
    "Examples of AI in agriculture and food:",
    "Policy implication:",
    "Trust is fundamental for cross-border and cross-industry data use; authenticity and integrity of data are essential.",
    "Blockchain/distributed ledger characteristics:",
    "Practical pilots and applications:",
    "Role: Blockchain is a promising platform to ensure data is trustworthy and accurate, enabling broader expansion of data uses.",
    "4IR technologies are evolving without guidelines; future-oriented, enabling policies are required.",
    "Multi-stakeholder cooperation needed: government officials, business leaders, civil society, and international organizations.",
    "By acting now and adopting the data OS framework, governments can:",
    "**تشكيل اقتصاد البيانات**",
    "**Impulsar la economía de datos ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Diciembre de 2020**",
    "**Définir le cadre d’une économie des données**",
    "**Shaping a Data Economy – IMF F&D**",
    "**打造数字经济新高地 - 金融与发展 - 国际货币基金组织季刊**"
  ],
  "related": [
    {
      "title": "تشكيل اقتصاد البيانات",
      "role": "document",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2020/december/ar/sonmez.pdf",
      "summary": {
        "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2020/december/ar/sonmez.pdf.md",
        "mime": "text/markdown"
      },
      "binary": {
        "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2020/december/ar/sonmez.pdf",
        "mime": "application/pdf"
      }
    },
    {
      "title": "Impulsar la economía de datos ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Diciembre de 2020",
      "role": "document",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2020/december/es/shaping-a-data-economy-wef-sonmez.pdf",
      "summary": {
        "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2020/december/es/shaping-a-data-economy-wef-sonmez.pdf.md",
        "mime": "text/markdown"
      },
      "binary": {
        "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2020/december/es/shaping-a-data-economy-wef-sonmez.pdf",
        "mime": "application/pdf"
      }
    },
    {
      "title": "Définir le cadre d’une économie des données",
      "role": "document",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2020/december/fr/shaping-a-data-economy-wef-sonmez.pdf",
      "summary": {
        "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2020/december/fr/shaping-a-data-economy-wef-sonmez.pdf.md",
        "mime": "text/markdown"
      },
      "binary": {
        "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2020/december/fr/shaping-a-data-economy-wef-sonmez.pdf",
        "mime": "application/pdf"
      }
    },
    {
      "title": "Shaping a Data Economy – IMF F&D",
      "role": "document",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2020/december/shaping-a-data-economy-wef-sonmez.pdf",
      "summary": {
        "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2020/december/shaping-a-data-economy-wef-sonmez.pdf.md",
        "mime": "text/markdown"
      },
      "binary": {
        "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2020/december/shaping-a-data-economy-wef-sonmez.pdf",
        "mime": "application/pdf"
      }
    },
    {
      "title": "打造数字经济新高地 - 金融与发展 - 国际货币基金组织季刊",
      "role": "document",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2020/december/zh/sonmez-chn.pdf",
      "summary": {
        "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2020/december/zh/sonmez-chn.pdf.md",
        "mime": "text/markdown"
      },
      "binary": {
        "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2020/december/zh/sonmez-chn.pdf",
        "mime": "application/pdf"
      }
    }
  ],
  "alternates": {
    "markdown": "/en/publications/fandd/issues/2020/12/shaping-a-data-economy-wef-sonmez/index.md",
    "json": "/en/publications/fandd/issues/2020/12/shaping-a-data-economy-wef-sonmez/index.json",
    "bundleManifest": "/en/publications/fandd/issues/2020/12/shaping-a-data-economy-wef-sonmez/bundle-manifest.json"
  },
  "generatedAtUtc": "2026-09-15T06:42:52.485Z"
}
