CREATIVE POTENTIAL OF THE DIGITAL SECTOR AS AN ENVIRONMENT FOR THE FORMATION OF NEW FORMS OF INEQUALITY: THE ROLE OF ICT IN INCREASING THE RESOURCE POTENTIAL OF THE COUNTRY

The purpose of the study is to determine the role of information and communication technologies in the processes of forming the country's resource potential and the development of the socio-economic system, as well as in determining the transformational potential of the digital sector as an environment for the formation of new forms of inequality. The article examines the phenomenon of inequality as an objective result of the exacerbation of global asymmetries of development and substantiates that the transformational processes characteristic of the formation of the digital environment of interaction determine the dynamism of changes, which makes it possible to further study inequality with an emphasis on its digital nature. The role of ICT and the development of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the formation of the digital environment is considered. It is noted that the lack of access to information resources actually means the impossibility of influencing individual subjects, including social institutions, on the processes of forming resource potential and developing the socio-economic system. The structure of the digital sector is considered and barriers to development are identified. It is argued that digital transformation represents a unique opportunity for developing countries to bypass traditional stages of industrialization through a digital leapfrog strategy and address systemic challenges such as poverty, educational inequality, and limited access to healthcare. It is noted that the introduction of digital technologies must be combined with cultural and structural systemic shifts to fully unlock their benefits. It is emphasized that countries have two paths to develop the digital sector: an export-oriented strategy and a domestic market-oriented strategy, although they are usually complementary. The article argues that the development of the digital economy requires the development and implementation of public policy, including the definition of strategic goals and objectives for the use of digital technologies for socio-economic development, the preparation and implementation of action plans and programs, the assessment and monitoring of the development of the digital economy to ensure feedback in the digital transformation management system. The digital transformation policy is aimed at both the public sector and the development of digital business, where the state creates conditions for its development, removing regulatory barriers and introducing the necessary regulation, forming an infrastructure to support innovation, small and medium businesses. In the short term, countries should assess their comparative advantages in different segments of the digital sector and formulate development strategies accordingly. Given the scale of the digital sector, the intensity of its development and the revolutionary nature of change, no country can produce a digital product without imported components or foreign resources. Countries' wealth, level of development and industry structure play a key role in determining their comparative advantages in different segments of the digital sector.