The Ivie participates with seven other European institutions in this project, which is part of the Seventh Framework Program of the European Commission

How does the services sector influence economic growth? What is behind the delay that Europe has accumulated with respect to the United States in improving its productivity in this sector? What are the benefits of using ICT in services? To date, there are no solid data on a European level to answer these questions and thus move towards a more dynamic services sector, as well as meeting the goals of the Lisbon Treaty.

In order to fill this gap, the European Commission has selected the INDICSER project within its Seventh Framework Program. Its main objective is to identify and develop a set of indicators to examine how the services sector affects economic growth.

The Ivie is participating in this project together with seven other European institutions. The kick-off meeting will be held in London this February, where the basis of the work to be carried out will be established.

Various research groups will explore aspects of the services sector such as productivity, innovation, financial services and environmental issues. Special attention will also be paid to sectors such as finance, health and education, all of which are very important and particularly complex to predict their production and productivity.

The starting point of the INDICSER project is the EU KLEMS project's analysis of productivity in the European Union. In addition to providing information on the determinants of productivity in the services sector, the various indicators allow international comparison, and can be used to design a better economic and social policy in Europe, among other issues.