The Ivie has participated in the PREDICT 2014 report on R&D in the ICT sector for the European Commission
The EU ICT sector value added represents around 4% of total GDP, and labour productivity is higher in the ICT services sector than in ICT sector manufacturing, say the data
The PREDICT 2014 Report: An Analysis of ICT R&D – EU and Beyond provides a detailed analysis of the state of the Research and Development (R&D) activities in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sectors in the European Union, and compares thirteen countries. Data and analyses provided are based on data from official sources (Eurostat, OECD, National Statistical Institutes…), covering the period 2006-2011.
This analysis was carried out by the Information Society Unit of the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (JRC-IPTS), with assistance of the Ivie, under the European PREDICT project (Prospective Insights on R&D in ICT). PREDICT is being run by JRC-IPTS for the Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT) of the European Commission. The analysis first provides an overview of the importance of the EU ICT Sector and its R&D. It then gives detailed information, by ICT manufacturing and service sub sectors and by EU Member State, and in comparison with other non‐EU economies that are currently taking the lead in the world economy, including both developed and emerging economies. The main contributions of the project are the disaggregation of the ICT sector according to the OECD’s definition (2007), a comprehensive database and a detailed analysis focused on policy design.
Data and analyses are structured according to the following categories: size of the ICT sector in terms of its share in GDP (i.e., ICT sector value added) and employment, labour productivity of the ICT sector, expenditure in R&D of the ICT companies (ICT BERD), R&D personnel and researchers in the ICT sector, and estimates of public funding of ICT R&D (ICT GBAORD) in the EU and its Member States.
Some of the PREDICT Report results are the following:
- The EU ICT sector value added represents around 4% of total GDP. It experienced a slight reduction from 4.10% in 2006 to 3.99% in 2011.ICT value added and ICT sector employment are concentrated in the ICT services sectors, especially ICT value added.
- The two largest ICT services sub-sectors in the EU -Computer programming, consultancy and related activities and Telecommunications- represented almost 72% of the total value added produced by the ICT sector in 2011.
- Germany dominates ICT manufacturing, followed by Italy, the UK, Sweden and France. ICT services sector is dominated by a group of four countries: the UK, France, Germany and Italy, that represented 61.66% of the total EU ICT services value added.
- The ICT sector share of total EU employment (2.7%) is lower than that of value added and has remained fairly stable. However, ICT sector employment is more volatile than the total. In 2011, after two years of contraction, ICT sector employment grew at a rate of 2.59%.
- Employment on EU ICT service sectors gained weight along the period and did not suffer the adverse effect of the economic crisis to the same extent as ICT manufacturing employment.
- Labour productivity in the ICT sector was in 2011, 46.64% higher than the total. It experienced a more severe contraction than the total in the onset of the crisis, but both variables had recovered in 2010. However, in 2011 these rates have dropped again, especially for ICT sector labour productivity.
- Labour productivity is higher in the ICT services sector than in ICT sector manufacturing and presents a less cyclical pattern.
- ICT manufacturing has a higher share in terms of BERD and R&D personnel than value added or employment.
- ICT GBAORD grew between 2006 and 2011 both in terms of its share in GDP and especially in its share on total GBAORD.
Figures, a comparison of indicators, a data summary and the main results are available in the online version of the PREDICT 2014 report.
Further information
Access to the PREDICT 2014 Report Online version | Complete Report | Executive summary (forthcoming)
The database offers all the available information (value added, employment, labour productivity, business expenditures on R&D, R&D employment and researchers) for all countries and for each OECD ICT sector.