Europe Needs More Lisbon to Make the ICT Investments Effective

While the renewed Lisbon strategy has emphasised the potential role that ICT can play in meeting the challenges of boosting growth and competitiveness in the EU, there is no clear understanding of the way ICT could complement the structural reform programme which is at the core of that strategy. The evidence presented in this paper suggests that higher market rigidities in the EU have deterred ICT investment and ICT contribution to GDP growth. The data used for ICT investment and ICT contribution to GDP growth is taken from the Groningen Growth and Development Centre database available at http://www.euklems.net. The views expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of the European Commission. Any errors are theirs alone.