ICLE Paper Examines Digital Public Infrastructure Around the World
PORTLAND, Ore. (Aug. 15, 2025) — Government-led digital public infrastructure (DPI) projects can achieve broad reach quickly, but often stifle competition and innovation and foment politicized decision-making, a new white paper from the International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE) concludes.
Authored by ICLE Senior Scholar Julian Morris, “The Governance of Digital Public Infrastructure: Case Studies” examines systems for digital identity and real-time payments in India, Brazil, Estonia, and the United States, among others, and highlights the tradeoffs between government-run systems and those led by the private sector or public-private partnerships.
The paper argues that decentralized governance models, which rely on market forces, tend to be more dynamic and responsive, while reducing the risk of technological lock-in.
“Digital public infrastructure can be a powerful tool for economic development and financial inclusion, but its governance is the most critical factor for its long-term success,” Morris said.
He cautioned that the history of government-run systems like India’s UPI or Brazil’s Pix have shown that such systems tend to distort markets and favor specific players.
“Our research shows that when governments become operators, they often create conflicts of interest that lead to market distortions, stifle private-sector innovation, and ultimately harm consumers. It’s better for governments to act as a neutral enabler, setting the rules of the road while letting competition drive innovation,” Morris added.
The full paper is available here. To schedule an interview with Julian, contact Jim Fellinger at [email protected].
About ICLE
The International Center for Law & Economics is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center working with a roster of more than one-hundred academic affiliates and research centers from around the globe. ICLE scholars promote the use of law and economics methodologies to inform public policy debates.