Value creation and free labour in digital development agendas: evidence from Colombia

Abstract

ABSTRACT The debate on the difference between value creation and value extraction has resurfaced since the 2008 financial crisis. Digitalization further raises the question of the frontier between productive and extractive activities in the data economy. Critical internet studies have developed the concept of free digital labour in order to highlight the issue of value creation and extraction in everyday online activities. While an emerging literature explores the issue of value in the digital age, the consequences in terms of development policies remain insufficiently researched. Against this background, this article analyses National Development Plans in Colombia to investigate the underlying notion of value. It shows that value creation is largely absent from development agendas that focus on access and infrastructure. However, it argues that the concept of digital labour is insufficient to understand the articulation of value creation and development, and the role of the state in the digital age.