Better Economic Measurement Is About Wiser Use, Not Just More Data
IMF Blog, December 3, 2025
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Bibliographic details
- Authors: Gita Bhatt
- Published: December 3, 2025
Overview
- Author: Gita Bhatt
- Date: December 3, 2025
- Core message: Statistics are a means, not an end, and improving economic measurement requires wiser use of new data sources—not merely more data.
- Context: The piece introduces a Finance & Development issue focused on how new data sources and techniques (satellites, smartwatches, social media, transactions, AI) are changing economic measurement and policymaking.
Challenges and trade-offs of new/alternative data
- New data sources can offer faster, granular, and sharper insights that better reflect “ground truth.”
- Risks and limitations identified:
- New/alternative data often originate as by-products of private business activity and carry private-sector biases.
- Such data may lack long continuity and robust methods underpinning official indicators.
- Greater data does not automatically yield better insights; it can increase noise and false signals.
- Reliance on data sources not publicly available erodes transparency and central bank accountability.
- Notable numeric/contextual point:
- The IMF is an organization of 191 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation and financial stability.
Role and defense of official statistics
- Official statistics remain essential because they provide continuity, methodological rigor, and public accountability.
- Recommendations and cautions:
- Central banks are using new data to fill gaps (e.g., falling response rates to national surveys) but do so in tandem with trusted official sources.
- Strong, independent national statistical agencies must be maintained; private data reliance should not diminish resources for official number crunching.
- Strong ties between statistical agencies, private providers, government officials, and academics can improve data quality.
Calls for modernization of metrics and measurement
- Core economic metrics like GDP and productivity may be misaligned with a data-driven economy.
- Specific modernization needs:
- Measurement systems should better reflect the growth of intangible assets such as digital services.
- Measurement must adapt to the evolving structure of global production.
Risks from concentration, geopolitics, and material demands
- Data concentration risks:
- Concentration of data collection among a handful of Big Tech companies threatens competition and innovation.
- Policies that mandate broader data sharing are recommended to counteract concentration.
- Geopolitical and resource pressures:
- AI’s data hunger drives material demands (energy, chips, minerals, water) that reshape global power dynamics.
Approaches, innovations, and practitioner perspectives
- Approaches highlighted:
- Nowcasting and other innovative methods can help developing economies close information gaps.
- Proposals to turn intangible data into countable economic inputs (valuation and pricing of data) are discussed.
- Voices and contributions within the issue:
- Kenneth Cukier: urges a new mindset to harness alternative data, likening economists to radiologists who must adapt to clearer scans.
- Claudia Sahm: advocates using new data alongside official sources and stresses transparency for central bank accountability.
- Bert Kroese (IMF): warns that private data reliance must not undermine official statistical resources.
- Rebecca Riley: calls for modernization to capture intangible assets and changed global production structures.
- Viktor Mayer‑Schönberger: argues for broader data sharing to protect competition and innovation.
- Thijs Van de Graaf: exposes material demands behind AI and geopolitical consequences.
- Laura Veldkamp: examines the value, pricing, and sharing of data.
- Jeff Kearns: documents nowcasting’s benefits for developing economies.
- Saurabh Garg (head of India’s statistical agency): describes tackling scale and rising public demand for real-time data.
Key takeaway and public-good framing
- Central thesis: Better measurement is not just about acquiring more data; it is about using data wisely to serve the public good by clarifying reality, responding to complexity, and enabling better decisions.
- Closing line from the piece: “Data, after all, is a means not an end.”
Source: IMF Blog — "Better Economic Measurement Is About Wiser Use, Not Just More Data", Gita Bhatt, December 3, 2025.
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