Quantifying “deals” The added value created by the digital economy is October 31, 20:14.

Suddenly, LINE interacts with family and friends. How much do you pay per month? In the first place, it is a free service. According to a survey conducted by a company, the average price is 1632 yen. By quantifying these benefits that have not been paid, an attempt to evaluate the economic effects and richness of the digital economy, which is difficult to capture by GDP, has begun. What can be seen from there ... (Ministry of Economic Affairs reporter Toshiaki Arai)

What are economic indicators in the digital age?

“With the progress of digitalization, such as the spread of SNS, consumer satisfaction has increased. I have to think that it is far from the world measured by GDP.”

This is what President Nomura Konomoto of Nomura Research Institute said. At a press conference held in Tokyo on October 2, I pointed out that the traditional framework such as GDP cannot capture the effects of digital economy, that is, “richness”.

On this day, Nomura Research Institute announced a new economic index in the digital age called “GDP + i”.

The biggest feature of this metric is the quantification of the benefits of digital services. The difference between the price that consumers think they can pay for goods and services and the price they actually paid is considered an economic advantage.

In economic terms, this is called “consumer surplus”. To put it simply, it is an attempt to quantify consumers' “value” as an indicator of “richness”.

How to quantify "deal"

So how do you express "value" in numbers? In the case of the LINE introduced earlier, the average of respondents to the questionnaire was 1632 yen when asked how much would you like to pay per month?

However, according to Nomura Research Institute, the answers to these questions tend to be lower than the true “willingness to pay”.

So, another question is: “How much do you give up to use the service for a month?”
In the case of LINE, the average of this answer is 17,520 yen. Answers to these questions are said to be higher due to the money they receive.

For this reason, the average of the two responses is ¥ 9,576, and the “monthly willingness to pay” is calculated. In addition, by multiplying the number of active users there, you can create an annual “deal”.

As a result, in the case of LINE, it will amount to ¥ 6.9 trillion. In the same way, calculating the “deal” for the year…

According to Nomura Research Institute, the scale of such “value” is 161 trillion yen in 2016 in Japan. This is more than 30% of real GDP (approximately 520 trillion yen) this year. He also pointed out that the expansion of the “deal of value” has made consumers feel satisfied with their lives.

On the other hand, free and low-priced digital services, such as those found in smartphone apps, can destroy existing services and reduce GDP growth.

In this company, it is a violent argument that the subjective index of “deal” is simply added to GDP, and the GDP “i” added to the satisfaction of the digital economy in GDP I'm trying to capture the economy.

“Continuing to pursue conventional GDP alone does not increase the level of satisfaction with life. While promoting the digitization of public services and increasing convenience, companies also provide services according to the characteristics of customers, resulting in consumer satisfaction. You should increase the degree. "

Digital economy grasp movement, overseas

In this way, the movement to grasp the effects of the digital economy, which was difficult to grasp in the framework of the conventional GDP, is also active overseas.

“GDP-B” proposed by Professor Eric Brignolfson of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States is one of them. This "B" is said to have the meaning of "Benefit" ("profit" brought by digital services) and "Beyond" (beyond GDP).

This indicator also estimates the added value created by free digital services. In an experiment conducted by the professors in the Netherlands targeting consumers, the message app “Watts Up” alone resulted in a 4.1% boost in Dutch economic growth.

When combined with other digital services such as Facebook, the Dutch GDP-B growth rate is about 5% higher than the actual economic growth rate.

In addition, the IMF = International Monetary Fund and OECD = Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development have begun discussions about the added value that the digital economy brings.

Prof. Noriyuki Yanagawa of the University of Tokyo Graduate School talks about the fact that these movements are active.

“The goal of economic policy is to realize a high-satisfaction life. However, it is possible that satisfaction will increase even if the growth rate of GDP declines due to changes in business models due to digitalization. It is not easy to grasp consumer satisfaction, but it is necessary for companies and research institutions to improve their accuracy by devising them. May be used as a basis for judgment. "

Will it become an indicator of "deal"?

The government has been working on major reforms in economic statistics represented by GDP over the next ten years, and is trying to capture the economic activities of the digital economy more accurately.

Along with the progress of statistical reform, we are paying attention to the role of indicators that quantify the value and richness brought about by the digital economy that began in the private sector. I would like to come.

Economic Department reporter Toshiaki Arai Joined Kitami and Sapporo stations in 2005, and now covers the digital economy and data business.