New economy and E-commerce: Beyond measure?

What actual weight do new economy and e-commerce have in the economies of developed countries ? Most of the measures suggested come from consultant firms and reflect their representations of these phenomea (which vary greatly) more than reality Moreover new economy and e-commerce are badly-defined notions and consequently very difficult to measure. The paper reconsiders the definition of each one of these phenomena and analyzes the efforts carried out by the National Institutes of Statistics to measure them. It argues that the New, Economy or more exactly the Digital Economy presents two sides. The first can be described as the sectors producing Information and Communication Technologies (equipment and services). The weight of these sectors is evaluated in terms of employment, added value, R&D expenditures. The second side is more difficult to measure because the impact of ICTs on all economic activities is involved. The paper shows that the generalized diffusion of ICTs is making increasingly difficult to isolate a specific phenomenon named Digital Economy E-commerce is often reduced to on line sale, i.e. the addition of a new channel to mail order sale. However on line sale which has stagnated at 1% of retail trade is far from exhausting all the tran, formations induced by the ICTs in commercial activities. It is better to speak about electronization of trade: all types of trade, and not only mail order sale, are affected by the diffusion of ICTs. In these conditions, it is becoming less and less relevant to base the measurement of e-commerce on the fact it is an activity distinct from the traditional retail trade.