Measuring the Value of Free

LONDON – Reliable economic statistics are a vital public good. They are essential to effective policymaking, business planning, and the electorate's ability to hold decision-makers to account. And yet the methods we use to measure our economies are becoming increasingly out of date. The statistical conventions on which we base our estimates were adopted a half-century ago, at a time when the economy was producing relatively similar physical goods. Today's economy is radically different and changing rapidly – the result of technological innovation, the rising value of intangible, knowledge-based assets, and the internationalization of economic activity.