## Better Economic Measurement Is About Wiser Use, Not Just More Data

_IMF Blog, December 3, 2025_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Better Economic Measurement Is About Wiser Use, Not Just More Data](https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2025/12/02/better-economic-measurement-is-about-wiser-use-not-just-more-data)

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## Bibliographic details
- Authors: Gita Bhatt
- Published: December 3, 2025

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### 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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- **fd-dec25-lowres**
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---

## References

- [This issue of Finance & Development](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd)
- [Kenneth Cukier](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2025/12/the-pulse-of-the-planet-cukier)
- [Claudia Sahm](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2025/12/alternative-data-and-monetary-policy-claudia-sahm)
- [Bert Kroese](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2025/12/point-of-view-instilling-trust-through-statistics-bert-kroese)
- [Rebecca Riley](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2025/12/its-time-to-modernize-measures-of-growth-rebecca-riley)
- [Viktor Mayer-Schönberger](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2025/12/point-of-view-why-data-should-be-shared-viktor-mayer-schonberger)
- [Thijs Van de Graaf](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2025/12/inside-the-ai-led-resource-race-thijs-van-de-graaf)
- [Laura Veldkamp](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2025/12/the-hidden-price-of-data-laura-veldkamp)
- [Jeff Kearns](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2025/12/forecasting-the-present-in-developing-economies-jeff-kearns)
- [Saurabh Garg](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2025/12/in-the-trenches-counting-smarter-srikanth-srinivas)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2025/12/02/better-economic-measurement-is-about-wiser-use-not-just-more-data_