The software complexity of nations

Sandor Juhász, Johannes Wachs, Jermain Kaminski and Cesar Augusto Hidalgo
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Sandor Juhász: Unknown
Johannes Wachs: Unknown
Jermain Kaminski: Unknown
Cesar Augusto Hidalgo: TSE-R - Toulouse School of Economics - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - Comue de Toulouse - Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, IAST - Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse

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Abstract: Despite the growing importance of the digital sector, research on economic complexity and its implications continues to rely mostly on administrative records—e.g. data on exports, patents, and employment—that have blind spots when it comes to the digital economy. In this paper we use data on the geography of programming languages used in open-source software to extend economic complexity ideas to the digital economy. We estimate a country's software economic complexity index (ECIsoftware) and show that it complements the ability of measures of complexity based on trade, patents, and research to account for international differences in GDP per capita, income inequality, and emissions. We also show that open-source software follows the principle of relatedness, meaning that a country's entries and exits in programming languages are partly explained by its current pattern of specialization. Together, these findings help extend economic complexity ideas and their policy implications to the digital economy.

Keywords: Economic complexity; Open source software; Innovation; GitHub; Relatedness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-04
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Published in Research Policy, 2026, Vol.55 (n°3), ⟨10.1016/j.respol.2026.105422⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05494588

DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2026.105422

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