2 The ICT sector
Many authors have found empirical evidence that ICT has an important positive contribu-
tion on economic development (Jorgenson and Stiroh 2000; Colecchia and Schreyer 2002;
Venturini 2009; Seo et al. 2009). Many approaches have been used in order to analyze the
role of ICT sector in the economy. One of them is Input–output analysis. Rohman (2012)
analyzed the ICT sectors in European countries by comparing the multiplier effect of the
ICT sector over time. He found a decline in the multiplier effect and output of ICT sectors
during the period 2000–2005. It is, however, unclear how to interpret this finding: One the
one hand, this seems to indicate that the ratio of ICT to GDP has already reached a rather
high level so that induced marginal productivity effects in sectors standing for backward
linkages and forward linkages are falling over time; an alternative interpretation is that ICT
investment has been rather strong and that learning costs—which are rising as a function of
the ratio of ICT to GDP—are increasing temporarily.