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The growing role of the digital economy in daily life has heightened demand for new data and measurement tools. Internationally comparable and timely statistics combined with robust cross-country analyses are crucial to strengthen the evidence base for digital economy policy making, particularly in a context of rapid change. This report presents indicators traditionally used to monitor the information society and complements them with experimental indicators that provide insight into areas of policy interest. The key objectives of this publication are to highlight measurement gaps and propose actions to advance the measurement agenda.

Investment in ICT goods and services is an important driver of growth. However, in 2012 ICT investment as a share of GDP and gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) was significantly lower than the peak reached in 2000 in nearly all OECD countries for which data are available. Data for 26 OECD countries show that ICT investment dropped from 3.2% to 2.3% of GDP, and from 13.8% to 12.1% of total investment between 2000 and 2012.

ICT technologies are key enablers of innovation throughout all sectors of the economy. In most OECD countries, information industries account for the largest share of the business expenditure on R and D (BERD), amounting to about 20-25% of total BERD and 0.2-0.3% of GDP in most countries.

Internet usage varies widely across OECD countries and among social groups. In 2013, 90% and more of the adult population were accessing the Internet in Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the Nordic countries and Switzerland, but less than 60% in Greece, Italy, Mexico and Turkey.

Measuring the Digital Economy: A New Perspective maps existing indicators drawn from a wide range of areas including education, innovation, entrepreneurship and economic outcomes against current digital economy policy issues, as reflected in the OECD Internet Policy Principles OECD (2011b). By doing so, it identifies gaps in the current measurement framework and assesses progress made by some initiatives towards filling these gaps. The overarching objective of Measuring the Digital Economy is to advance the measurement agenda, including in areas highlighted by the OECD in its broadband metric checklist (see Box 1), so as to better monitor the pervasive role of ICTs and the Internet in the broader economy and their contributions to delivering jobs and growth.

Broadband communication networks and the services provided over them support existing economic and social activities and hold potential for tremendous innovation.

With lacklustre growth across much of the globe, monitoring and understanding the role of ICTs and the Internet in the broader economy is a priority. Measuring the Digital Economy maps

Sound measurement is crucial for policy making. It helps policy makers to evaluate the efficiency of their actions and to reinforce the accountability of public interventions. The demand for new data and measurement tools is particularly high in the case of the digital economy, because of its growing role in everyday life and the fast pace of change.

Mobility, cloud computing, social networking, sensor-nets and big data analytics are some of the most important trends in the digital economy today. Collectively these trends are making possible the future of “smart everything” (i.e. grids, homes, business processes, energy, healthcare, transport and government), as well as empowering businesses, consumers and society at large.