Digital platforms and economic development in Colombia: A view from Lewis, Prebisch and North

Abstract

The expansion of digital platforms has transformed labor and productive dynamics across multiple economies, particularly in contexts characterized by high levels of informality and inequality. In Colombia, this phenomenon has created new opportunities for income generation and access to employment, while also intensifying debates surrounding labor precariousness, technological dependency, and the regulatory capacity of the State. This paper analyzes the role of the platform economy in Colombia’s economic development through three perspectives of economic thought: Arthur Lewis’ dual development model, Raúl Prebisch’s dependency theory, and Douglass North’s institutionalist theory. Through a qualitative methodology based on literature review and critical analysis, the study examines how digital platforms affect the structure of the labor market and the generation of economic value. It concludes that, although these platforms can expand access to employment and facilitate certain processes of economic inclusion, they also tend to reproduce dynamics of informality, dependency, and value concentration when operating within weak regulatory frameworks. Consequently, their contribution to
economic development depends largely on the institutional capacity to regulate these activities and promote more equitable conditions of economic participation.