Information and Digital Economy as an Economic Category

The article is written as a part of a study on prospects for the application of new information and communication technologies in the modern economy and is devoted to categorical concept of "information and digital economy". The purpose of the article is to reveal the content of the concept of "information and digital economy" and its objective nature. Scientific and practical value of the category "information and digital economy": contribution to a dialectical development of categories and concepts framework of economic theory paradigm; definition of correctness of use of categories of "information and digital economy" as an effective tool to address a number of practical problems which modern society of the twenty-first century faces. The article is divided into several parts, their contents: introduction, Part I-Genesis of notions of categorical definition of information and digital economy; Part II-rationalization of the relevance for the development of the digital economy in Russia; Part III-a comparative analysis of the development of digital economy in leader-countries of world economy and in Russia; Part IV-the prospects of using information and communication technologies in the modern economy; Part V-reasons of the impossibility to create a digital economy in Russia during this decade; Part VI-measures to create preconditions for the development of digital economy in Russia.