An Industry-Based Estimation Approach for Measuring the Cloud Economy

Christopher Hooton ()

Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE) Discussion Papers from Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE)

Abstract: The usage of cloud computing technology in business and daily life has grown rapidly in recent years. However, measurement and research on the impacts of that usage remain relatively scarce and new. The current paper examines the economic contributions of cloud technology by estimating the size of the 'cloud economy' in the United States. The author uses input from cloud industry experts and product line receipt details to identify specific commercial receipts related to the cloud industry. The author then uses an adapted input-output methodology previously employed by other groups examining the size of the technology sector to estimate the economic size of the cloud in terms of Output, Earnings, Employment, Value-Added, Direct-Effect Earnings, and Direct-Effect Employment. The estimates are simply a starting point for measuring the economic size of the cloud, but they compare favorably with other estimates from industry groups and private parties. The key advantage of the current paper is the detailing of a replicable approach to use in future research including a discussion of the identification criteria used by the consulting experts.

Keywords: Cloud computing; digital economy; national accounts; economic estimates (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E01 L86 O30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mac, nep-pay and nep-tid
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nsr:escoed:escoe-dp-2020-03

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