The Global Digital Networks framework: algorithmic governance and the changing economic geographies

Matthew Zook and Michael Grote

Chapter 12 in A Research Agenda for Economic Geography, 2025, pp 161-174 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The rise of digital technologies is reshaping global economic networks, driving transformations in production, distribution, and governance structures. This chapter introduces the Global Digital Networks (GDN) framework, designed to analyze how digital affordances impact economic activities across regions and markets. Building on the Global Production Networks (GPN) and Global Financial Networks (GFN) approaches, the GDN framework positions digital technologies as central, co-constitutive agents in the economy. It emphasizes the materiality of data infrastructure—such as sensors and servers—and highlights how data generation is deeply embedded in territorial contexts. Key processes such as data enhancement are categorized into singularization, association, centralization, and fractionalization, which together foster new economic practices and applications. The GDN framework also explores the role of governance, focusing on how states, firms, and algorithms regulate and shape economic activities. Through a systematic review of the literature, the GDN approach illustrates how digital technologies extend firm control, reshape consumer roles, and redefine labor relations, offering a forward-looking framework to understand the evolving global economy. The GDN framework provides critical insights into the spatiality of economic activities, reinforcing the importance of territoriality and governance in the digital age.

Keywords: Digital economy; Global Digital Networks; Big data; Economic governance; Digital technology; Digital materiality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035339914
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