NOWCASTING THE GROWTH RATE OF THE ICT SECTOR: OECD DIGITAL ECONOMY PAPERS.

This technical paper explores the use of Google Trends data to estimate the growth rate of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector. It discusses the statistical and machine learning methods employed to extract relevant information and make accurate predictions. The paper addresses challenges such as sampling noise and downward trends in search indexes, and suggests strategies to mitigate these issues. The results of the nowcasting model indicate that the ICT sector remained resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper concludes by suggesting potential enhancements to the model, including the incorporation of additional data sources and the exploration of alternative machine learning techniques. [Extracted from the article]