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Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the digital transformation of businesses. Using a unique global panel dataset, this paper documents the patterns of digital adoption during the pandemic across firms in 57 (mostly developing) countries. The data show the tale of two stories. On one hand, the pandemic drove firms to increase the use of digital platforms and invest in digital solutions. On the other hand, the digital divide increased across several dimensions. There remain substantial gaps between small and large firms as well as across sectors, particularly for new investments in digital solutions. Firms that did not use any digital platform or channel before the pandemic, also lagged in their response to the pandemic, increasing the gap with those that were more digitally ready. Moreover, although the share of online sales across firms for all size groups increased, there is a growing concentration of online sales among top firms. The paper analyzes some of the factors associated with this increase in the digital divide and discusses the policy implications addressing the widening digital divide and leveraging the benefits of rapid digitalization.

Relying on a novel dataset covering more than 120,000 firms in 60 countries, this paper con-tributes to the debate about D policies to support businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic. While governments around the world have implemented a wide range of policy support measures, evidence on the reach of these policies, the alignment of measures with firm needs, and their targeting and effectiveness remains scarce. This paper provides the most comprehensive assessment to date of these issues, focusing primarily on the developing economies. It shows that policy reach has been limited, especially for the more vulnerable firms and countries, and identifies mismatches between policies provided and policies most sought. It also provides some indicative evidence regarding mistargeting of policies and their effectiveness in addressing liquidity constraints and preventing layoffs. This assessment provides some early guidance to policymakers on tailoring their COVID-19 business support packages and points to new directions in data and research efforts needed to guide policy responses to the current pandemic and future crises.