Public Infrastructure as the Basis of Digital Inclusiveness

This research focuses on determining the significance of public infrastructure in terms of its elements for the digital inclusiveness of local markets and defines the prospects for achieving the most comprehensive digital inclusiveness in Russia through the development of public infrastructure. It examines the advanced and progressive experience of the top 20 countries with the highest digital inclusiveness of the economy as of 2023. The authors employ correlation and regression analysis to model the dependency and contribution of public infrastructure elements to digital inclusiveness, respectively. Additionally, a case study method is employed to analyze digital inclusiveness management through public infrastructure development using Russia as an example. The main conclusion is that the most important elements of public infrastructure for ensuring the digital inclusiveness of the contemporary economy are human resources, technological infrastructure, and institutional infrastructure. Meanwhile, general and ICT infrastructure are much less significant, and market infrastructure does not generate a positive effect in terms of increasing the digital inclusiveness of the economy. The research holds theoretical significance as the authors’ conclusions facilitate the adaptation of the concept of state economic regulation to meet the current requirements of the digital economy in public infrastructure. This adaptation involves specifying the essential components of this infrastructure to ensure digital inclusiveness. The practical significance is associated with the fact that the noted perspective correlation of the level of development of public infrastructure elements in Russia for maximizing digital inclusiveness and the proposed recommendations can serve as a basis for developing a strategy to enhance digital inclusiveness in the country. The results of the conducted analysis of digital inclusiveness of the Russian economy through the prism of public infrastructure elements in 2023, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of public infrastructure, can be used to draw up a roadmap for increasing the digital inclusiveness of the Russian economy in the coming years.