THE DIGITAL ECONOMY IS A GLOBAL TREND IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY

The transition to digital technology is in progress. From the media to cars, tourism, agriculture and healthcare, the whole of the economy is now digital. New business models, supported by powerful network effects and large-scale use of data, upset the balance of regulations and our social model. The digital economy tends towards market concentration, although innovation may call dominant positions into question at any time. The digital economy is also giving rise to legitimate concerns regarding the future of employment: apart from its impact on specific professions, it is causing structural changes in the distribution of jobs and bringing the long-term rise in the salaried workforce to an end. This poses new challenges in terms of labour law and social security. With all of this discussion, however, there is seldom an explanation of the digital economy. What makes it different from the traditional economy? Why should we care about it? The article presents a theoretical generalisation of scientific approaches to interpreting the essence of the digital economy as a global trend of the information society in the context of a retrospective of its development. A comparative analysis of modern definitions of the digital economy is conducted, and classification of views on this concept is suggested. The peculiarities of the digital economy are determined. The types of costs that in the digital economy are significantly reduced or equal to zero are outlined. We emphasise how this shift in costs can be divided into five types: lower search costs, lower replication costs, lower transportation costs, lower tracking costs, lower verification costs. The main differences between the digital economy and the traditional one are revealed, manifested through the possibility of forming much more productive business models, creating new market structures, which, among other things, significantly reduce transaction costs in traditional markets, generating vast amounts of data, analysis of which provides huge opportunities and risks. At the same time, it has been suggested that the boundaries between the digital and traditional economies are blurring as technological change permeates all aspects of modern life.