The macroeconomic implications of measurement problems due to digitalisation

Juha Itkonen

No 1/2019, BoF Economics Review from Bank of Finland

Abstract: The impact of digitalisation is not fully reflected in economic statistics. Even though commonly used economic metrics such as GDP are still relevant in assessing the state of the economy, the production of statistics should be developed to measure the digital economy better. The most significant measurement challenges caused by digitalisation relate to new goods, free services, changes in quality and the movement of intellectual capital between countries. Due to digitalisation, GDP and productivity growth may have been understated and the rate of price inflation overstated. Measurement errors alone do not explain the exceptionally weak development in recent years, nor do they eliminate the problems of the Finnish economy and the key challenges for economic policy. Digital technology has, however, improved our well-being in ways that are difficult to measure in money.

Keywords: GDP; digitalisation; statistics; productivity; technology; digital economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D23 D63 E01 E31 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ict and nep-mac
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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