Electronic commerce is changing the way that businesses and consumers interact with each other; the products they create, buy, and sell; and the way that they communicate, learn, and become informed. How can policymakers position their countries and themselves to take advantage of this new environment? How should policymaking adjust to a more global, more networked, and more information-rich marketplace where relationships and jurisdictions between the governments, businesses, and citizens of different countries increasingly overlap? How can governments effectively harness rapidly changing technologies and partner with both domestic and foreign private sectors to reap the greatest benefits for their constituents?

This primer answers these questions using both general analysis and specific examples. It addresses in particular the needs of policymakers in emerging markets who must formulate and refine policies that affect e-commerce in areas ranging from telecommunications and finance to international trade and domestic distribution as well as taxation and privacy. Companies considering doing business in these economies also will find that the examples offer insights into the issues that policymakers face, the different policy approaches that they choose, and the market opportunities that result as more and more economies embrace global electronic commerce.