Start Date
4-12-2019 10:10 AM
End Date
4-12-2019 10:25 AM
Description
The rise in digitalization has sparked the Fourth Industrial Revolution, raising new concerns and deep divisions throughout the European Union (EU). While the adoption of the Digital Single Market Strategy on May 6, 2015 attempted to adapt to the increasingly digital world, it further highlighted differences among Member States. This paper argues that cross-national variations in digital trade restrictiveness can be explained by the number of cyber-attacks a Member state experiences. This study differs from existing explanations in that it takes a technological perspective and attempts to explain a digital question with a digital phenomenon. The paper tests this hypothesis through a combination of anecdotal and quantitative evidence. Anecdotal evidence regarding the evolution of cyber-attacks in France in Germany suggests that both countries responded to cyber-attacks with strict national legislation towards digital issues. A simple linear regression of the number of cyber-attacks on a country’s Digital Trade Restrictiveness assesses the magnitude of the relationship between these variables for a sample of 28 EU Member States. While the data suggests a causal relationship between the two variables, further research is required to provide a more complete explanation for the variation in question.
Chair
Aydin Yildirim
Discussant
Elsa Massoc
Session Type
Panel 1
Topic
Political Economy & Trade
Under Attack: Trading Digitally in the Age of Vulnerability
The rise in digitalization has sparked the Fourth Industrial Revolution, raising new concerns and deep divisions throughout the European Union (EU). While the adoption of the Digital Single Market Strategy on May 6, 2015 attempted to adapt to the increasingly digital world, it further highlighted differences among Member States. This paper argues that cross-national variations in digital trade restrictiveness can be explained by the number of cyber-attacks a Member state experiences. This study differs from existing explanations in that it takes a technological perspective and attempts to explain a digital question with a digital phenomenon. The paper tests this hypothesis through a combination of anecdotal and quantitative evidence. Anecdotal evidence regarding the evolution of cyber-attacks in France in Germany suggests that both countries responded to cyber-attacks with strict national legislation towards digital issues. A simple linear regression of the number of cyber-attacks on a country’s Digital Trade Restrictiveness assesses the magnitude of the relationship between these variables for a sample of 28 EU Member States. While the data suggests a causal relationship between the two variables, further research is required to provide a more complete explanation for the variation in question.
