This study investigates whether grant-based international development cooperation can generate economic co-prosperity for both donor and recipient countries by examining the digitalization of Cultural Resource Management Systems implemented in Myanmar...
This study investigates whether grant-based international development cooperation can generate economic co-prosperity for both donor and recipient countries by examining the digitalization of Cultural Resource Management Systems implemented in Myanmar, Laos, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia. The research begins by identifying a gap in existing ODA studies, which have largely emphasized recipient-side socio-cultural benefits while overlooking donor-side economic implications. Recognizing that digital cultural heritage projects reshape institutional practices, labor structures, and local knowledge systems, this study explores whether such structural changes form shared economic pathways on both sides. The purpose of the research is to clarify how digital cultural ODA creates interconnected effects across culture, technology, education, and tourism, and to determine whether these effects open economic channels for donor industries. Methodologically, the study combines literature review, policy analysis, cross-country comparison, and quantitative assessment, drawing on project records and donor-side economic simulations presented in recent feasibility studies.
The findings indicate that digital cultural ODA consistently contributes to expanded cultural budgets, increased tourism flows, enhanced technical capacity, and diversified employment in recipient countries. At the same time, similar industrial components—digital equipment, content development, expert services, and cultural-tourism linkages—reappear across cases, suggesting a recurring pattern through which donor industries benefit. These results demonstrate that economic co-prosperity is not a speculative notion but a structural characteristic observable across multiple country cases. Academically, the study broadens the analytical scope of ODA research by incorporating donor-side economic effects into the evaluation of cultural and digital cooperation programs.