to shift economic in昀氀uence to a broader range face funding constraints, but e-commerce plat- of players, including private corporations and form 昀椀rms o昀昀er lower customer acquisition less open economies, led by China. costs and potentially greater market reach Straining Contributions to Global that could reduce costs, increase 昀椀nancing, Challenges. High national debt, and associ- and enable faster growth. In developing and ated debt servicing costs, could restrict the emerging markets, these platform 昀椀rms could lower the barriers to entry, help unlock 昀椀nanc- 昀椀nancial contribution that governments are ing, and provide an avenue to formalization able and willing to make toward global public of the underground economy. Greater regula- goods and to address shared challenges, tion of platform 昀椀rms—particularly by coun- including global health and climate change. tries trying to impose trade barriers—might Wealthy countries might cut back on health reduce gains. assistance programs—or be unable to expand them to match population increases in poor Increasing Challenges to International countries. Less investment could delay emis- Economic Governance. The number of large sions mitigation measures, and developed but still developing economies and their countries could backtrack on commitments to relative economic weight are likely to increase provide adaptation 昀椀nancing to the develop- during the next 20 years. These economies, ing world. Slower growth and high debt could led by China, could increasingly demand more also limit the ability of some governments, in- in昀氀uence over the direction of economically cluding those in developing countries most at focused international organizations, altering risk from the adverse e昀昀ects of climate, from standards and norms to re昀氀ect their economic investing in adaptation measures to protect interests, some of which may be incompati- their infrastructure and communities from ble with the interest of advanced economies. extreme weather. Other frictions might emerge because these Platformization Spurring Economic Growth. economies are large in aggregate but still considered developing based on per capita E-commerce platform 昀椀rms will not only GDP, giving them access to concessions from sustain globalization by matching customers the IMF, World Bank, and WTO. These ten- and businesses across borders, but they can sions could shape the future orientation and also facilitate growth in domestic business by undermine the e昀昀ectiveness of these orga- o昀昀ering a marketplace for domestic 昀椀rms and nizations, as well as result in the creation of customers to meet. The rise of e-commerce more parallel organizations and increase the platform 昀椀rms could help spur the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises, which in昀氀uence of developing economies on global have historically made a signi昀椀cant contri- economic rules. bution to economic growth and job creation. These small and medium-sized 昀椀rms often Photo / Bigstock A MORE CONTESTED WORLD 53 Photo / Bigstock