National Income and Growth Accounting in the Information Economy

The rapid growth of information technology investment has caused fundamental and pervasive changes in underlying economic processes and consequent outcomes. However, empirical verification of IT effects on macroeconomic and sectoral growth performance is hampered by the fact that the changes in the economy caused by IT-use may bias current economic statistics. This project aims to improve, extend and update macro and sectoral output and productivity measures for the Netherlands, by developing and applying a variety of methods to account for the effects of IT investment and IT use. The project then will analyze the growth consequences of IT use, the relationship between IT and other inputs, such as non-IT capital and human capital, and the possible role of IT as a general purpose technology that enhances the performance of the Dutch business sector.