Daniele Franco: Nontraditional data and statistical learning with applications to macroeconomics
Opening remarks by Mr Daniele Franco, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy, at the 2020 Banca d'Italia and Federal Reserve Board Joint Conference on Nontraditional Data & Statistical Learning with Applications to Macroeconomics, virtual event, Rome, 11 November 2020
The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am glad to open this virtual conference jointly organized by Banca d'Italia and the Federal Reserve Board. I would like to welcome all the participants from more than 60 countries.
- This conference is about the impact of digital activities on economic analysis.
An astonishing amount of digital activity is occurring at any given moment. This explosion stems from the aggregate action of 4.5 billion internet users, a number that is projected to rise even further in the coming years.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, technology has played an even greater role in our daily lives.
This development has increased the production of data. In fact, data are constantly being generated by our clicks, reactions on social media, shares, streaming of videos, digital transactions, digital recordings of our personal and work activities, digital circulation of scientific texts, and so on and so forth.
These data can give us a better understanding of the state of the economy at both the micro and macro level, provided - obviously - that we have access to them.