[...]... significant changes to the U.S statistical system in order to track the growth and impact of the digital economy The 1997 Department of Commerce report on The Emerging Digital Economy provides examples of aspects of the digital economy that we should be measuring: 1 The shape and size of the key components of the evolving digital economy, such as e-commerce and, more generally, the introduction of computers... blurred The SSEL linked to surveys asking about class of customer and method of selling is the best way to see how the structure of the economy is shifting from the traditional model to the digital model 29 Measuring the Digital Economy Demographic and Worker Characteristics We need to understand how both consumers and workers in the digital economy differ from those in the traditional economy The Consumer... use the Internet to search for the best price and other changes in distribution channels that have the potential to eliminate wholesale and retail markups may have important implications for both the CPI and PPI programs What Can the Census Bureau and Other Statistical Agencies Do to Improve Our Understanding of the Digital Economy? It is clear from the discussion so far that there are many holes in the. .. Administration and the Census Bureau to develop and use a longitudinal version of the SSEL to track the dynamics of small vs large businesses There are some challenges in the use of the SSEL for these types of analyses First, the quality of the analyses depends critically on the quality of the industry and location codes in the SSEL While the quality of such codes is relatively high for most businesses, the quality... growth of the broader digital economy After reviewing the current activities of federal statistical agencies, they conclude that current data collection activities are inadequate and provide some 5 Introduction practical advice on how to improve measurement of the digital economy In “GDP and the Digital Economy: Keeping up with the Changes,” Brent Moulton argues that inadequate measurement of the true... and Kahin • The macroeconomic perspective: How do we measure and assess the digital economy and its implications for the economy as a whole? • The texture of the digital economy: How do firms compete and how do markets function, and how is this different from traditional competition? What are the opportunities for and impediments to the participation of individuals and small businesses? • The impacts... no way to estimate the value of sales in which the good or service being transacted is delivered to the purchaser electronically 23 Measuring the Digital Economy Box 4 Data Needs for the Digital Economy: Demographic and Worker Characteristics We should measure the demographic and labor market characteristics of individuals and workers and compare those participating in the digital economy to those not... Co-operation and Development (1991), pp 315–348 The Macroeconomic Perspective This Page Intentionally Left Blank Measuring the Digital Economy John Haltiwanger and Ron S Jarmin Introduction This chapter focuses on the data needs and measurement challenges associated with the emerging digital economy We must start, however, by defining what we mean by the digital economy The dramatic growth of what is being called... Iacono In The Truth Is Not Out There: An Enacted View of the Digital Economy, ’” they stress 10 Brynjolfsson and Kahin that the digital economy is not an immutable and inevitable object, subject to dispassionate analysis, but rather an ever-changing social construction This has important implications for researchers, who need to be cognizant of the complex and often nonlinear relationships they are... to the emerging digital economy An open question is whether the occupation codes need to be revised to reflect the changing nature of skills and tasks involved in the digital economy Price Behavior Quality-adjusted deflators for computers have been in use for a number of years, and this has greatly helped in quantifying the impact of the IT revolution Clearly this program must continue 25 Measuring the . class="bi x0 y0 w0 h0" alt="" Understanding the Digital Economy This Page Intentionally Left Blank Understanding the Digital Economy Data, Tools, and Research edited. Kahin The Macroeconomic Perspective Measuring the Digital Economy 13 John Haltiwanger and Ron S. Jarmin GDP and the Digital Economy: Keeping up with the Changes