Electronic commerce is changing the way businesses and consumers create, sell, and buy products, and the way they communicate and learn. How can policymakers position their countries 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 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 such as telecommunications, finance, taxation, privacy, and international trade and domestic distribution. 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 they choose, and the market opportunities that arise as more and more economies around the world embrace global electronic commerce.