Defining and measuring the UK digital economy
A study to develop a revised definition of the digital economy which meets DSIT’s policy needs.
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This study was carried out by Technopolis for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and involves the following key elements:
- assessment of existing definitions of the digital economy to capture the extent to which they meet UK stakeholder needs and international standards
- stakeholder consultation to develop a rigorous, comprehensive and measurable definition that meets stakeholder and user needs
- design of a measurement methodology setting out how the new definition of the digital economy will be operationalised
The methodology paper proposes the following revised statistical definition for the UK digital economy:
All economic activity derived from the production of digital content, ICT goods or ICT services.
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Tier 1 of the digital economy refers to economic activity derived from firms that are primarily involved in the production of digital content and/or ICT goods and/or ICT services
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Tier 2 of the digital economy refers to economic activity derived from diversified firms which produce digital content and/or ICT goods and/or ICT services as part of a broader diversified product or service offer and which have a higher level of digital intensity in their inputs than firms in the traditional economy