Abstract
This paper examines the labour market and distributional impacts of digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, with a focus on emerging and developing economies. Drawing on recent empirical evidence, it analyzes how digital technologies and AI are transforming employment, productivity, wages, inequality, and access to markets and financial services in the Global South. While digitalization has contributed to employment growth and economic inclusion, the labour market effects of AI are likely to be more uneven, with most jobs expected to be transformed rather than displaced. Impacts vary across countries, sectors, and demographic groups, reflecting persistent gaps in infrastructure, skills, and access to digital technologies. The paper also explores how digitalization and AI affect public services, taxation, and state capacity, alongside evolving policy and regulatory responses. It highlights both opportunities for productivity gains, financial inclusion, and leapfrogging, and risks of widening inequalities. The paper concludes that maximizing benefits requires coordinated investments in infrastructure, skills, and governance, supported by inclusive policies that promote decent work and equitable growth.