FUNCTIONAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ARCHITECTURE FOR MEASURING THE DIGITAL ECONOMY IN INTERNATIONAL PRACTICE

Abstract

Based on the study of international methodological documents, the directions for statistical measurement of the digital economy have been identified. The study compares documents from the OECD, UNCTAD, IMF, WTO, Eurostat, ITU, the World Bank, and the European Commission. A comparative analysis has been carried out regarding the boundaries of the studied population, units of observation, digital characteristics, data sources, indicators being developed, as well as methodological limitations. The distribution of functions among the methodology developers, producers of official statistics, and organizations that develop indicators of digital development has been examined. It has been established that the differences between international approaches are due to the specific nature of the measurement tasks being addressed. This limits the joint use of the results obtained without prior methodological coordination. A functional and institutional architecture for measuring the digital economy has been proposed, combining an accounting and classification framework, digital identification, primary statistical observation, macroeconomic accounting and statistical integration, and analytical comparison of digital economy indicators. The sequence of steps from selecting a statistical unit and a digital attribute to classifying and systematizing digital economy indicators has been defined. The subsequent integration of the results of statistical observation into the system of national accounts is carried out through tables of digital resources and uses and satellite accounts. The place of digital data in the measurement system as a result of production and an economic asset has been clarified. The methodological conditions for the comparability of digital economy indicators have been substantiated; these conditions are determined by the consistency of the conceptual framework, units of observation, boundaries of the statistical population, classifications, data sources, and calculation methods. Indicators of the use of digital technologies, digital trade, digital output, and digitalization conditions have different analytical content, so the interpretation of the results of their application must correspond to the measurement objectives and the methodology for generating the relevant indicators.