聯(lián)合國貿易發(fā)展委員會-在發(fā)展中經濟體中應用數字供應使用表（英）

ApplyingDigitalSupply-UseTablesinDevelopingEconomies

UNCTADTECHNICALNOTESONICTFORDEVELOPMENT|NO.21

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?2024,UnitedNationsConferenceonTradeandDevelopment

Thefindings,interpretationsandconclusionsexpressedhereinarethoseoftheauthorsanddonotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsoftheUnitedNationsoritsofficialsorMemberStates.

ThedesignationsemployedandthepresentationofmaterialonanymapinthisworkdonotimplytheexpressionofanyopinionwhatsoeveronthepartoftheUnitedNationsconcerningthelegalstatusofanycountry,territory,cityorareaorofitsauthorities,orconcerningthedelimitationofitsfrontiersorboundaries.

MentionofanyfirmorlicensedprocessdoesnotimplytheendorsementoftheUnitedNations.

Photocopiesandreproductionsofexcerptsareallowedwithpropercredits.

Thispublicationhasnotbeenformallyedited.

UNCTAD/TCS/DTL/INF/2024/1

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Acknowledgements

ThistechnicalnotewaspreparedbytheDivisiononTechnologyandLogisticsofUNCTAD,undertheguidance

ofandwithcontributionsfromTorbj?rnFredrikssonandDanielKer.

UNCTADgratefullyacknowledgesthecontributionsofJohnMitchell.

ThenotewascommissionedbyUNCTADasabackgroundpaperforthefourthmeetingoftheUNCTAD

WorkingGrouponMeasuringE-commerceandtheDigitalEconomy,heldfrom30Novemberto1December

2023.

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ApplyingDigitalSupply-UseTablesinDevelopingEconomies

Summary

DigitallyfocusedindicatorsareabsentwithintheSystemofNationalAccounts,thestandardstatisticalframeworkformeasuringeconomicactivity.TheDigitalSupply–UseTables(DigitalSUTs)frameworkwascreatedtoimprovethevisibilityofandinformationavailableondigitalphenomenawhilebeingconsistentwiththeexistingnationalaccountstatistics.TheframeworkhasbeendesignedasaderivationfromtheSupply-UseTables(SUTs).However,SUTsarenotavailableinmanydevelopingcountriesandoftencomeinfrequentlywithsignificanttimelags.ThistechnicalnotelooksathowcountrieswithSUTscantakestepstobeginapplyingtheDigitalSUTsframework,andhowthefundamentalprinciplesandapproachessetoutintheDigitalSUTsframeworkcanbeappliedtokeynationalaccountsaggregatesthataremorewidelyavailableindevelopingcountries,withoutrequiringfullSUTs.Itpointstoactionsthatcountrieswithalimitedstatisticalbasistoworkfromcantaketo

begincompilingDigitalSUTsorkeyindicatorsfollowingtheprinciplesoftheframework.

1.Introduction

Digitalizationhasfundamentallyalteredtheproductionandconsumptionofgoodsandservicesworldwide.Firmsaredisruptingestablishedmarketsandimprovingtheefficiencyoftheirproductionprocessesthroughdigitalization,automatingtaskspreviouslydonebyhumansaswellasusingdigitaltoolstocommunicateandcarryoutprofessionalwork.Atthesametime,digitaltransformationhaspermittedconsumerstoaccessalargervarietyofgoodsandservices,whileexercisinggreatercontroloverthecharacteristicsofthetransactionprocesses.Thisphenomenonisbecomingnearuniversalduetothecontinualgrowthofinternetuseinallcountrieswithtwo

thirdsoftheworld’spopulationnowusingtheinternet(ITU,2022).

Despiteextensivedigitalizationacrosseconomies,digitallyfocusedindicatorsareabsentwithintheSystemofNationalAccounts,thestandardstatisticalframeworkformeasuringeconomicactivity.TheDigitalSupply–UseTablesframeworkwascreatedtoimprovethevisibilityofandinformationavailableondigitalphenomenawhile

beingconsistentwiththeexistingnationalaccountstatistics.

ThecompilationofDigitalSUTsdoesnotmakeexistingeffortstomeasuree-commerce,theICTsector,orICTproductsredundant;onthecontrarytheframeworkisenabledbytheseinitiatives.However,whiletherearemanyexamplesofcountriesgatheringinformationone-commerce,thevariabilityofmethodsandsources,limitsboththeirexhaustivenessandcomparability(UNCTAD,2023).Takingthisinformationandusingit,notjustasstand-aloneoutput,butasabasistoderivecomplementarybreakdownsfornationalaccountsmeasuresthathavebeencompiledinawaythatisexhaustiveandcomparable,suchasthoseinSUTs,canhelptoalleviatethisproblem.Furthermore,theDigitalSUTsframeworkgoesbeyonde-commerceandICTs,asitincludesthedigitalproducts

beingproducedaswellasactorsthatarereliantondigitalizationtogeneratetheircontributiontotheeconomy.

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TheDigitalSUTsframeworkwasoriginallydevelopedbytheOECD(2019)andincludesoutputsthatcanbecompiledindiverseways.ItprimarilyprovidesaframeworkforthereallocationofSUTtables,incountrieswith

thoseavailable.

Atthesametime,theframeworkoffersflexibilityforallcountrieslookingatincreasingthevisibilityofdigitalizationintheireconomy.RatherthanabsolutelyrequiringfullSUTs,manyoftheconceptsandindicatorsoutlinedintheDigitalSUTsframeworkcanbeappliedtoaggregatesthatareoftencompiledaspartofstandardannualnationalaccounts

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.Theseaggregatesincludetotaloutputandvalueaddedeithercoveringtheentireeconomyorsplitbyindustry,totalhouseholdfinalconsumption,totalimports&exports.Theproductionofindicatorsthatprovidegreaterintelligenceondigitalization’simpactontheeconomyisapriorityforpolicymakersandcannotalwayswaituntilSUTsarefullydeveloped.Therefore,whiletheDigitalSUTsframeworkisaimedatbreakingdownrowsandcolumnofSUTs,theconceptswithintheframeworkcanstillprovidevalueto

usersifappliedtoalternativenationalaccountoutputs.

ThistechnicalnotepresentsasummaryoftheDigitalSUTsframework,includingthepolicyareaswhereinformationfromtheDigitalSUTscanbeofmostuse.Itwillthenidentifyspecificareasoftheframeworkthataremostobtainableforcountrieswithamorelimitedbaseattheirdisposalandincludesomeexamplesofwork

thatcountriesarealreadydoinginthisarea.

2.OverviewoftheDigitalSUTs

DigitalSupply-UsetablesaregeneratedbyaddingadditionalrowsandcolumnstotheexistingSUTs.Whendesigningaframeworktoincreasethevisibilityofdigitalizationinthenationalaccounts,itwasconsideredmorepracticalforcountriestocreatenewestimatesbybreakingdownexistingnationalaccountoutputsratherthanbuildingupnewoutputs(OECD,2023).BybeginningwithSUTs,threedifferent,butinterlinked,measurementperspectivescanbeutilized.Thesethreemeasurementapproaches(transactional,product,andindustry)arediscussedinmoredetailbelow.WhiletheframeworkisbasedonthefullSUTsoutlinedintheSystemofNationalAccounts(UNSD,2009),manyofthehighpriorityindicatorswithintheframeworkcanbecreatedbybreakingdowncoreNationalAccountaggregatessuchasHouseholdfinalconsumptionexpenditure,intermediateconsumption,importsandexports-ratherthanrelyingonthedetailedproductrowsandindustrycolumnsthat

existintheSUTs.

ItisworthnotingupfrontthattheDigitalSUTsframeworkdoesnotdefineorseektomeasure“thedigitaleconomy”orlistaspecificsetofactivitiesasmakingupthedigitaleconomy.Sincedigitalizationimpactsthecreationanddeliveryofalmosteverygoodorservicewithintheeconomyinonewayoranother,itwasseenasfutiletotryanddelineatecertainindustriesorproductsas“digital”whiledelineatingothersas“non-digital”.InthiswaytheOECD’sviewwassharedbytheIMFasearlyas2018,whenitsuggestedthat“theDigitalEconomycouldwellequaltheentireeconomyifdefinedinthebroadestsense”(IMF,2018).Thisisnottodisregardtheusefulnessofaninternationallyagreedupondefinition,butrather,duetotherangeofopinionsonwhatshouldbe

included(andexcluded)insuchadefinition,theframeworkaimstoachieveconsensusondefinitionsof

1SincetheSUTsisacomprehensiverepresentationoftheeconomy,manyoftheseaggregatesdoappearwithintheSUTs,buttheyareoftencompiledbycountriesregardlessofwhethertheysubsequentlyproduceSUTsornot.

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components,ratherthanofthedigitaleconomyitself.Aswillbediscussedlaterinthistechnicalnote,thereplacementofasingleall-encompassing“digitaleconomy”estimatewithmultipleindicatorsonspecificdigitalphenomenaprovidesalevelofinformationoftenmuchmoreusefultopolicymakers,sinceitallowsgreaterclarity

onthespecificdigitalelementsdrivinggrowth.

Thesuiteofindicatorsgeneratedinformsusersonspecifictrends,productsandactorsthatareconsideredasquintessentialofthedigitaleconomy.Importantly,itprovidesinsightinhowspecificelementsofthedigital

economyarerepresentedandaccountedforwithintheexistingnationalaccountaggregates.

Theframeworkcontainsthreedistinctdimensions,whichare:

.Thenatureofthetransaction(the‘how’).

.Thegoodsandservicesproduced(the‘what’).

.Thenew‘digitalindustries’shownseparatelyintheDigitalSUTs(‘who’).

Thethreeperspectives(seefigure1)reflectthemultidimensionalnatureofthedigitaleconomy,beyondasimpleaggregationofdigitalproducts.Furthermore,theframeworkoffersthepossibilityofcreatingarangeofdifferent

outputsdependingonthedataavailabletothecountry.

Figure1.TheconceptualframeworkofDigitalSUTs

Source:(OECD,2023)adaptedfrom(IMF,OECD,UNCTADandWTO,2023).

Note:1.DIPs=DigitalIntermediationPlatforms.

2.Therearecurrentlysevennewdigitalindustries;thelastcolumninFigure1showsexamples.

3.ThethreeperspectivesoftheDigitalSUTs

Asummaryofthethreeperspectivesisincludedbelow,muchofthismaterialistakenfromseveralpublications

focusedontheDigitalSUTsframework,mostofwhichwereproducedbytheOECD’sInformalAdvisoryGroup

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onMeasuringGDPinaDigitalizedEconomy(IAG)andtheISWGNADigitalizationtaskteam

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.ThesepublicationsoutlineindetailtheDigitalSUTsframework,includingspecificdefinitionsandcompilationexamples

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a.Natureofthetransaction

ThenatureoftransactionisthefundamentaldifferentiatoroftheDigitalSUTs,asconventionalSUTsornationalaccountoutputsmakenodistinctiononhowatransactionisfacilitated.Inthemoderneconomy,goodsandserviceswhichwerepreviouslydominatedbyphysicaltransactionsareincreasinglybeingordereddigitallyincludingviathirdpartyapps,atrendthatpickedupspeedduringthepandemic

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.

WithintheDigitalSUTsframework,aproductcaneitherbedigitallyordered,ornon-digitallyordered-withdigitalorderingdefinedas“Thesaleorpurchaseofagoodorservice,conductedovercomputernetworksby

methodsspecificallydesignedforthepurposeofreceivingorplacingorders”.

Likewise,aservicecanbedigitallydeliveredornon-digitallydelivered-withtheformerdefinedas“transactionsthataredeliveredremotelyovercomputernetworks”

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.

BothdefinitionsareconsistentwiththoseputforwardintherecentupdateintheHandbookonMeasuringDigitalTrade(IMF,OECD,UNCTADandWTO,2023).Alsolikethedigitaltradeframeworkistheadditionaldelineationbetweenhowtheproductisdigitallyordered,eitherdirectwithproducerorviaathird-partydigitalintermediation

platform(seedigitalindustries).

Theadditionofthetransactiondimensionreflectstheimportanceofdigitalorderinganddigitaldeliveryinthemoderneconomy.Whilethedistinctionbetweendigitalandnon-digitalorderingcanbeappliedtoeveryproductwithintheSUTsduetothesometimeslimitedavailabilityofsourcedataondigitalordering,itisconsideredmorefeasibletoapplythisatarelativelyaggregatedlevel,suchastotalexportsorthepublishedhouseholdfinalconsumptionexpenditurecategories.

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Conversely,sinceitisappliedtoSUTcolumnsnotrows,thedigitallydeliverablesplitisonlyappliedtoaggregateestimates,suchastotaloutput,finalconsumption,importsandexports

(SeeColumns‘T’infigure2).

2TheISWGNAistheIntersecretariatWorkingGrouponNationalAccounts.ThisgroupincludesEurostat,theIMF,UnitedNationsStatisticalDivision,theOECD,andtheWorldBank.

3Thesepapersinclude;theoriginalframeworkpresentedtotheIAG(OECD,2019),theOECDGoingDigitaltoolkitmeasurementnote(Mitchell,2021),anSNAGuidancenotepresentedforglobalconsultation(ISWGNA,2021)aswellasanextensiveHandbookoncompilingDigitalSUTs(OECD,2023).

4AnalysisfromMcKinseybasedonself-selecteddatashowsthatacrossAustralia,Canada,theUnitedStatesandtheUnitedKingdom,thefooddeliverymarketisnowfourtoseventimeslargerthantheywerein2018(Mckinsey&Company,2021).5Ithasbeenwellestablishedinseveralpublicationsthatconceptuallyagoodcannotbedigitallydeliveredsee(IMF,OECD,UNCTADandWTO,2023).

6AnexampleofthisbytheBEAappearslaterinthepaper.

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Figure2:SimplifiedvisualisationofDigitalSUT

Source:IMF.

Importantlythebreakdownofthenatureofthetransactionintorows(fordigitallyordered–YellowshadedrowsinFigure2)andcolumns(fordigitallydelivered–Colum’s‘T’inFigure2)allowsthecompilertorecordallthedifferentinteractionsbetweenproducersandconsumersasallfourorderinganddeliverypossibilitiesare

represented.Theseare:

i)digitallyorderedanddigitallydelivered.

ii)digitallyorderedandnon-digitallydelivered.

iii)non-digitallyorderedandnon-digitallydelivered;and

iv)non-digitallyorderedanddigitallydelivered.

Thisavoidstheneedformanyadditionalrowsspecifyingthenatureofdeliveryforeachofthedifferentmethods

ofordering.

b.Digitalproducts

Fromaproductperspective,theframeworkcompilesaggregateexpenditureonICTgoodsanddigital

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servicesthatfallwithintheSNAproductionboundary.Thisincludesallproductsthat“mustprimarilybeintendedtofulfilorenablethefunctionofinformationprocessingandcommunicationbyelectronicmeans,includingtransmissionanddisplay”(UNSD,2015).Thisdefinitionistakenfromthe‘alternativestructures’section(part5)oftheCentralProductClassification-CPC2.1(UNSD,2015)andisconsideredtheproductequivalenttotheICTsectoroutlined

intheInternationalStandardIndustrialClassification(ISICRev.4)(UNSD,2008).

7ICTgoodsanddigitalservicescorrespondtotheCPCRev.2.1listofICTproducts(UnitedNations,2015).

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IntheconventionalSUTs,ICTgoodsanddigitalservicesthatmakeupthealternativestructuremayberecordedacrossmanyproductrows.Assuch,portionsoftheseproductrowsshould,inprinciple,beaggregatedtoformtwohigh-levelrows:ICTgoodsanddigitalservices

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.Anexceptiontothisisthetwoproductrowswhichseparatelyrecordtwospecificdigitalservices;digitalintermediationservices(DIS)andcloudcomputingservices(CCS)

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.Bothproductsareofconsiderablepolicyinterest,butdespitethisneitherisseparatelyrecordedinthecurrentstandardsforproductclassification

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.Therefore,informationontheproductionandconsumptionofthese

productsiscurrentlyscarce.

ByaggregatingICTgoodanddigitalservices,aneasilyinterpretableindicator,representativeoftheincreasingimportanceoftheseinputstotheproductionprocessiscreated.Similarly,theincreasingleveloffinalconsumption,bothgovernmentandhousehold,onICTgoodsanddigitalservicesiseasilyrepresented.Whilebyseparatelyidentifyingthetwospecificproducts(CCSandDIS)businessesinvestmentdecisionsandtheswitchtopurchasesmadeviaindependentthirdparties,madepossibleviatechnologicaladvancementcanbebetter

represented.

c.Digitalindustries

The‘who’perspectiveoftheDigitalSUTsrelatestothederivationofaggregatesfornewdigitalindustries.Theseindustriesareshowninseparatecolumnstore-aggregatetheoutputandvalueaddedofunitsinawayotherthantheirunderlyingproductiveactivity

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.Atpresent,sevendigitalindustrieshavebeenidentified:

.Digitallyenablingindustries:Thisincludesunitsthatproducegoodsandservicesthatenablethedigitaltransformationtooccur,suchasITequipment,computersoftwareandtelecommunicationservices.ThisindustrycategorycorrespondstotheICTsectoridentifiedwithintheInternationalStandardIndustrialClassification(ISICRev.4)(UNSD,2008)

.DIPschargingafee:Thisincludesunitsthatoperateonlineinterfacesthatfacilitate,forafee,thedirectinteractionbetweenmultiplebuyersandmultiplesellers,withouttheplatformtakingeconomicownershipofthegoodsorrenderingtheservicesthatarebeingsold(intermediated).Exampleswouldincluderideshare,onlinereservationserviceproviders.

.Dataandadvertisingdrivendigitalplatforms:Thisincludesunitsoperatingexclusivelyasdigitalplatformswhosemainsourceofrevenueiseitherthesaleofdataproducedusinginformationcollectedfromtheplatformand/orthesaleofadvertisingservicesusingtheplatformforadvertising.Exampleswouldincludemostsocialmediaplatformsandinformationsharingsites.

8Thissplitintotworowspartiallyrelatestothemeasurementofgoodsandservicesbeingdigitallydelivered.Whiletheconceptofdigitallyorderedextendstoallproductsincludinggoodsthisisnotthecaseforthosethataredigitallydelivered.AsintheHandbookonMeasuringDigitalTrade,itisassumedthatgoodscannotbedigitallydelivered.Therefore,whilealmostallproductscanbeordereddigitallyandmoreandmoreservicesarebecomingavailabletobedeliveredonadigitalbasis,goodsarestillconsideredtobedeliveredonanon-digitalbasisonly.

9Infigure2,thesearerepresentedastheblueandorangeshadedrowsrespectively.

10Arevisiontotheinternationalproductclassification(CPC2.1)iscurrentlyunderway,undertheauspicesoftheUnitedNationsExpertGrouponinternationalstatisticalclassifications.ThisrevisionwillexplicitlyacknowledgeCloudComputing

ServicesandIntermediationServicesasastandaloneclassofproducts.

11Infigure2,thesearerepresentedasthegreenshadedcolumns.

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.Producers’dependentonintermediationplatforms:Thisincludesunitsthatsellmostoftheirgoodsorservicesviatheintermediationplatformsmentionedabove.Examplesincludedriverswhoobtainbusinessviarideshareplatformsorhandcraftproducerswhorelyonmarketplacewebsitestoselltheirgoods.

.E-tailers:Thisincludestradersengagedinpurchasingandresellinggoods(i.e.retailers)whoreceivemostoftheirordersdigitally.

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.Producerspredominatelyprovidingfinancialandinsuranceservicesdigitally.Thisincludesfinancialserviceproviders,includinginsurance,reinsurance,andpensionschemes/funds,whichareoperatingpredominantlyonline,withlimitedornoavenuestointeractwithconsumersphysically.Examplesincludeonlineonlyfinancialserviceprovidersanddigitalpaymentproviders.

.Otherproducersonlyoperatingdigitally.Thisincludesunitsoperatingexclusivelyonlinethatarenotincludedinoneoftheprevioussixdigitalindustries.

Thedigitalindustriesclassifyproducersbyhowtheyutilizedigitaltechnologieswithintheirbusinessmodels,ratherthanthefundamentaltypeofeconomicactivityundertaken

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,whichisthebasisforclassificationintheconventionalSUTs

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andothereconomicstatistics.Forexample,thismeansthattwoeconomicentitiesthatarecurrentlyclassifiedinseparateISICindustriesduetotheirfundamentaleconomicactivity(e.g.,anonlineonlynewspaper-publishingservices,andanonlineonlyeducationprovider-educationservices),willbeplacedinthesamedigitalindustrywithintheDigitalSUTssincebothunitsareexclusivelyreceivingordersdigitallyanddigitallydeliveringtheirservice.Inthisexamplebothwouldbeplacedtogetherin“otherproducersoperating

digitally”.

4.PolicyareasthattheDigitalSUTscanhelptoinform

Manyareasofeconomicpolicyarebeingsignificantlyimpactedbydigitalization.Whiletheproductionofasinglenumber,representativeoftheentire“digitaleconomy”mightbeeasyforuserstounderstand(atleastinageneralsense),itisoflittlepolicyuse.Anincreaseoradecreaseingrowthofsuchanaggregatemaybeattributabletoanynumberofthings.Asanalternative,theDigitalSUTsframeworkyieldsasuiteofdetailedindicatorsthatcan

beusedtodeveloppolicyinthefollowingareas(amongothers).

a.Taxation

Digitalizationhasprovidedgreaterscopeforfirmstoexportproductstomarketswithouthavingaphysicalpresenceinthatmarket.Thisabilityto“scalewithoutmass”(OECD,2018)affordedbytheadvancementofdigitaltechnologyhasresultedininternationaltaxrulesbasedona“brick-and-mortar”economicenvironment,nolongerbeingfitforpurpose.Besidescorporatetaxation,rapiddigitalizationhasalsocreatedconsiderablechallengesfor

indirecttaxationframeworksbothgloballyanddomestically.OftenValue-addedtax(VAT)isthesinglelargest

12This“majority”isfromtheperspectiveofvalueofsales.Thatis,aunitisane-tailerifthevalueoftheirsalesviadigitalorderingmakesupmostoftheirtotalsales.

13Theexceptionisthedigitallyenablingindustrieswhereunitsareclassifiedbasedontheproductstheyareproducing.

14ThisbasisforclassificationintheSUTsfollowssimilarpracticesintheclassificationofgroups,sections,anddivisionsintheinternationalindustryclassification,wherebythe“actualproductionprocessandtechnologyusedbecomelessimportantasacriterionforgroupingactivities”(UNSD,2008).

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sourceofindirecttaxrevenues(OECD,2022).However,thecollectionofVATondigitalplatformswithlimitedornophysicalpresenceinthecountryofconsumptioncanimpacttheoverallleveloftaxcollected,havingsomeformofindicatorofthelevelofValueAddedthatisbeingproducedbytheseunitscangreatlyassisttaxationauthoritieswithunderstandingtheirtaxbase

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.Additionally,manydevelopingcountrieshavebeguntoinstitutevariousindirecttaxationlegislationrelatedtothedigitaleconomy,assuch,indicatorsondigitalactivitywill

improvetheforecastingofrevenueassociatedwiththesenewtaxationpolicies(UNCTAD,forthcoming).

b.Competition

ThepolicyimpactscausedbytheemergenceofDIPsonthetraditionalconsumer-producerparadigmcannotbeoverstated.Whileintheory,DIPscreateagreaterlevelofcompetition,whichisadvantageousforconsumersandtheefficientallocationofresources,themarketcanstillbemanipulatedifthesizeandreachofasingleDIPgrowstoolarge.Intheseinstances,DIPscanengageinanticompetitiveconductandrentseekingduetotheirmarketpower.Examplesofthisincludeartificiallyincreasedpricesforthefinalconsumer(AustralianCompetitionand

ConsumerCommision,2022)orreducedrevenueforproducers(TheNewYorkTimes,2023).

c.Skillsandlabourforce

Mostindustrieshaveincorporateddigitalizationintotheirproductionprocessestoatleastsomedegree.Thisdoesnotonlyimpacttheproductsusedasinputsbutalsotheleveloflabourrequired.Informationonthesechanginginputsintoproduction,includingindicatorsonincreasesordecreaseintheproportionoflabourrequiredtoundertakeproduction,canassistthegovernmentindesigningpoliciesthatensureworkersenteringtheworkforcehavetheappropriateskills.Additionally,theDigitalSUTscanprovidegreaterinformationonthecontributiontooveralloutputofworkersastheyshifttomoremobilelabourand“gig”work.ThistrendisalreadywellestablishedwithdatafromtheUKshowingthatthepercentageofpeoplewhofoundworkviaanonlineplatformincreased

from11.5%in2016to22.6%in2021(Spencer&Huws,2021).

d.Internationaltrade

Digitaltrade,definedas“allinternationaltradethatisdigitallyorderedand/ordigitallydelivered”(IMF,OECD,UNCTADandWTO,2023)isbecominganincreasinglyimportantcomponentoftradeagreementsbetweencountries.Forexample,in2020,therewere113suchagreementswithdigitaltradeprovisions,representing34%ofallagreementsnotifiedtotheWorldTradeOrganization(WTO)(LopezGonzalez,Sorescu,&Kaynak,2023).

Greaterinformationonimportsandexportsthataredigitallyorderedordeliveredisthereforeofrelevance.

15Importantly,aspointedoutbythehandbookonmeasuringdigitaltrade,VATinformationitselfcanbeaninsightfulsourcewithwhichtomeasurecertainelementsofdigitallyorderedtradeanddigitallydeliveredtrade(IMF,OECD,UNCTADandWTO,2023).

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e.Businessinvestmentandservicedelivery

Theinternethasenabledeasiercommunicationandaconnectednesspreviouslyunseen.Duetothis,servicesthatpreviouslyhadtobeprovidedface-to-faceareincreasinglydelivereddigitally.Suchatrendimpactsinvestmentdecisionsfortheprivatesectorinarangeofwaysincludingbeyondtheappropriatesizeoftheirphysicalfootprint.Forexample,achangingfocusonfulfilmentcentresratherthantraditionalstores(Walmart,2022).Suchdecisionsarenotlimitedtotheprivatesectoranddevelopedeconomies.SeveralAfricancountrieshavebeguntheprocessofimprovinggovernmentservicedeliverythroughdigitalization.NamibiaandGabonarebothdevelopingacentralizeddigitalplatformthatwillprovideeasieraccesstogovernmentservicesincludingacceptinge-payments,Kenyahassuccessfullyintroducedadigital“iTax”portal,whileTanzaniahasinstigatedane-governmentauthority

(https://www.ega.go.tz/)

tooverseethegovernmentdigitaltransformation(EuropeanInvestmentBank,2021).Providinginformationondigitalorderinganddigitaldelivery,especiallyfromtheperspectiveofatime

seriescaninformusersonwhichserviceshaveseenaquickerorlargerpickupinbeingprovideddigitally.

5.Priorityindicatorsfordevelopingcountries

TheDigitalSUTsframeworkwasconstructedwiththepurposeofbeingappliedtoSUTs.DuetothecomprehensiveandexhaustivenatureoftheSUTs,thisapproachwasseenasthebestopportunitytocaptureallfacetsofdigitalizationintheecono