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Releases Report on ‘A Study on Establishing 2024 Productivity Accounts by Industry and Analyzing Growth Contribution in the Digital Age’
- Urgent need to prepare a national growth strategy to respond to changes in the economic structure of the digital era -
- Need to improve productivity and investment in ICT and knowledge-based intangible assets

The Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI, President Sangkyu Rhee) released a policy material (24-02-01), “A Study on National Growth Strategy in Response to Changes in Economic Structure in the Digital Era: Establishment of 2024 Productivity Accounts by Industry and Analysis of Growth Contribution in the Digital Era (1981-2023)”. The study particularly made a quantitative analysis of the sources of growth and total factor productivity by industry through the establishment of a productivity account database by industry, and provided policy directions based on the data.
The study examined the growth status of the Korean economy and the causes of the slowdown in growth rate. It emphasized the importance of enhancing the role of ICT and knowledge-based intangible assets and improving productivity to ensure sustainable growth in response to changes in economic structure in the digital era.
The Korean economy has been in a low growth structure of 2 percent since the global financial crisis. The socio-economic structure is changing due to the decline in the working-age population, the increase in household and government debt, and the aging population. External economic uncertainties such as the U.S.-China competition for technological supremacy, protectionism, and international conflicts are also increasing.
There are complicated factors, but the biggest factor contributing to the recent decline in the Korean economy's growth rate is the slowdown in TFP productivity. It is particularly important to note that TFP productivity has slowed down significantly in the manufacturing sector, which has been driving the economy. The productivity of the service sector has improved compared to the past, but its growth rate is lower than that of the manufacturing sector.
Nevertheless, the study confirmed that the ICT industry remains a strong contributor to the Korean economy. The growth contribution of knowledge-based intangible assets such as TFP productivity and R&D investment was also very high. Based on this, the ICT industry has made crucial contributions to overcoming various crises, including the global financial crisis and the recent COVID-19 pandemic.
The study also shows the effect of digital utilization (digital intensity) on growth by industry. Industries with higher digital utilization tend to have higher value-added growth rates, suggesting that the adoption of digital technologies leads to innovation and capacity expansion, which contributes to growth. TFP productivity turned out to be higher in industries with higher digital utilization, but not in a one-to-one proportion. This suggested that even in industries that heavily utilize digital technologies, it is necessary to have complementary capabilities and innovation to achieve productivity gains.
The contribution of digital technologies and knowledge-based intangible assets to growth has expanded during the COVID-19 crisis. Investments in knowledge-based intangible assets are expanding in quantity across industries and the importance of ICT such as AI and SW is growing, yet it is necessary to not only expand quantitative investments in quality assets such as ICT and intangible assets, but also improve the quality performance of these investments in order to achieve actual productivity gains.
This study analyzed the current state of the Korean economy in the rapidly changing digital era and sought to provide directions for sustainable growth. The research team pointed out that it is urgent to develop strategies to ▲ improve productivity through innovation and ▲ achieve innovative growth in the digital era utilizing ICT and knowledge-based intangible assets. It diagnosed that the recent decline in growth rate reflects ▲structural problems, not just cyclical factors.
Research fellow Hyun-Joon Jung said, “Given the high level of internal and external uncertainty surrounding the Korean economy, productivity improvement is the most important factor for sustainable growth in the digital era.” “To improve productivity, it is necessary to shift to quality investments such as ICT and knowledge-based intangible assets, strengthen human capital and improve labor market efficiency, discover new growth engines, and strengthen organic public-private cooperation,” Jung said. “It is expected that the KISDI Productivity Accounts developed through this research will be widely used as a basis for establishing growth strategies and policy alternatives meeting the needs of the digital age,” he added.

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KISDI Releases Report on ‘A Study on Establishing 2024 Productivity Accounts by Industry and Analyzing Growth Contribution in the Digital Age’