Digital economy in Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

Statistics on the digital economy, e-commerce, and digital trade

Objectives

The global objective of the course was to gain a clear vision of the key concepts, definitions, and data sources relevant to digital trade statistics; to identify key indicators, prioritize data production, and address challenges in developing national digital trade statistics; to build a customized roadmap, organize and disseminate statistics effectively, leverage surveys and administrative sources, and to be able to produce insightful analyses in order to develop a comprehensive dissemination policy tailored to digital trade data.

Modules

• Module 1: Digital trade, digital economy and statistical concepts
• Module 2: Setting the objectives, identifying the pre-requisites and defining a roadmap
• Module 3: Data collection
• Module 4: Data compilation
• Module 5: Dissemination and analysis

Target population

Primary target: Compilers of international trade statistics from:

• National Statistical Office (NSO)
• Central Bank
• Other national authorities (ONA)

Secondary target: Digital trade statistics users, analysts, policy makers and economists from:

• Ministries of Foreign affairs, Tourism, Agriculture, Trade/Commerce, Finance, ICT, etc.
• Chamber of Commerce
• Business Cluster
• Entrepreneurs
• Financial institutions
• NGOs
• Academics

Recommendations

Participants in the project’s courses suggested insightful strategies to address current challenges and boost their countries’ digital economies. These ideas were transformed into policy recommendations to strengthen the digital economy in Small Island Developing States.

• Establish institutional and strategic framework
  Encourage Governments to develop and implement national strategies for comprehensive e-commerce, digital economy and digital trade statistics, aligned with national capacities (capabilities) and priorities and in support of evidence-based policymaking and international reporting. In this con- text, further call for designating a lead agency, establishing inter-agency coordination mechanisms and integrating relevant indicators into national statistical development strategies in line with internationally recognized frameworks, including the approaches put forward by the UNCTAD Manual for the Production of Statistics on the Digital Economy 2020 and the IMF- OECD-UNCTAD-WTO Handbook on Measuring Digital Trade. These strat- egies may involve a focus on specific services such as the tourism sector.
• Invest in statistical capacity
  Recommend that Governments invest in capacity building for national sta- tistical offices, central banks and other relevant institutions through tar- geted training, apprenticeships and the provision of statistical tools, taking into consideration gender equality and the inclusion of persons with disa- bilities and other vulnerable groups. Encourage cooperation in international capacity-building programmes, such as UNCTAD’s Trade-in-Services Sta- tistics Information System (TiSSTAT).
• Implement statistical frameworks in a phased manner
  Recommend national statistical offices/lead agencies to implement statis- tical frameworks, based on national priorities and in a phased approach, with metadata systems aligned with international standards to document data sources, methodologies, limitations and revisions, thereby enhanc- ing transparency, international comparability and user trust. Furthermore, national statistical offices/lead agencies are encouraged to introduce indi- cators relevant to SIDS, such as on digital data readiness and resilience as well as the environmental sustainability of the digital economy. Further, they are encouraged to compile disaggregated data, including, but not lim- ited to, by gender, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.
• Promote the use of administrative and alternative data
  Encourage national statistical offices/lead agencies to use administrative data (e.g., VAT returns, customs declarations, International Transaction Reporting Systems) and alternative data sources (e.g., web scraping, mobile phone data, card payments) to complement traditional data collection, reduce costs and improve timeliness, including through public-private partnerships.
• Enhance regional and international cooperation
  Encourage regional cooperation among SIDS, including through South- South cooperation and partnerships with regional organizations, to set a common list of priority indicators on digital trade, e-commerce and digi- tal economy, as well as to share tools, methodologies and data sources. Further recommend national statistical offices/lead agencies to actively participate in international discussions around statistical frameworks on e-commerce, digital economy and digital trade, such as through joining the Task Group on measuring e-commerce value, established under UNCTAD’s Working Group on measuring e-commerce and the digital economy.

Testimonials

Many people regarded the course as being helpful and applicable to their professional work. The course illustrated that it clearly helped participants to better understand the digital economy. Additionally, several participants highlighted the importance of being a part of a global learning community for the opportunity to cross-collaborate during the course.

“As a Trade Intelligence Officer in the Dominican Republic, I believe the knowledge gained will be directly applicable in analyzing trends, informing decision-makers, and supporting exporters in our region. The course has also enhanced my awareness of the strategic opportunities digital trade offers for growing economieslike ours (…)” — Paola Lilibeth Martinez Mejia, Ministerio de Industria, Comercio y Mipymes, Dominican Republic

“I greatly appreciate the course for its well-structured content and practical focus, which has significantly enhanced my understanding of Digital Trade. The training has equipped me with valuable knowledge and soft skills such as critical thinking, data analysis, and effective communication. I am confident that I will apply these skills in my professional work by improving data quality, conducting more rigorous analyses, and contributing to evidence-based decision-making. Overall, this course has been an enriching experience that I believe will have a lasting positive impact on both my career and personal development.”— Somika Khushi Ryan, Fiji Bureau of Statistics, Fiji

(…) For Small Island Developing States like mine – Jamaica – digital trade offers tremendous opportunities to enhance our economic resilience, diversify our markets and deepen our integration into the global trading system. Doing so requires robust and timely data. This course offered not only an introduction to the theoretical framework needed to better understand what statistics can be used to support our policymaking but allowed for knowledge exchanges among other officials working in the subject matter(...)”— Roshelle Henry, Permanent Mission of Jamaica to the United Nations, Jamaica

“I’d like to thank the organizers of this training on Statistics on the Digital Economy, E-Commerce, and Digital Trade. It has been a meaningful journey, learning about the important role of statistics in measuring growth in the digital economy, e-commerce, and digital trade. Importantly, we need to have stronger collaboration and coordination at national level when collecting, processing and analyzing, and disseminating statistics related to the three areas above. More resources need to be invested in statistics to ensure growth can be accurately measured.” — Tristein Tapu Zutu, Solomon Islands Government, Solomon Islands