2.8 • EMPOWERING PEOPLE to innovate – Consumers’ demand for innovation
Enabled by new technologies, users and consumers play a growing role in the innovation process and can directly
influence innovation and encourage the development of new technologies.
Final consumption expenditure
of households, by selected category, 2008
As a percentage of total final
consumption expenditures
Health
Communication
Did you know?
In ten OECD countries, mobile outpaced fixed lines
as the main telecommunication revenue stream.
(OECD Communications Outlook 2009.)
Education
United States
Health, communication and education are
three important areas in which technological or
organisational innovation will help to improve
the goods or services delivered to the population.
In these areas in particular, users and consumers
can play an active role by testing new ideas and
providing feedback to service providers (firms and
governments) to help orient the innovation effort.
Korea
Switzerland (2007)
Australia (2007)
Israel
Mexico (2007)
Portugal (2006)
Spurred by high consumer demand and rapid
technological advances, information and
communication technology (ICT) plays a large part in
the everyday life of many OECD consumers. Although
communication-related expenditures represent a
small percentage of the household budget (2.6% in
2008), its share has grown steadily over the last two
decades.
Japan (2007)
Belgium
Greece (2007)
Slovak Republic
Hungary
Germany
Consumer demand for environmentally friendly
goods and services (e.g. energy-efficient appliances,
alternative-fuelled vehicles, non-toxic cleaning
products) is likely to play an important role in the
development of a new generation of “green” goods
and services. Empirical work at the OECD indicates
that exploiting such demand depends on price
incentives and information-based measures to help
consumers make informed choices based on their
underlying demand for improved environmental
quality.
Poland
Canada
Ireland
Slovenia
Netherlands
Spain (2007)
Finland
France
Estonia
Czech Republic
Iceland
Austria (2007)
Sweden
Italy
Norway (2006)
Definitions
Turkey
Denmark
United Kingdom
Luxembourg
0
5
10
15
20
Source: OECD, National Accounts Database, February 2010.
25
%
The final consumption expenditure of households
or demand from households (along with public
consumption and investment) is part of a
country’s domestic demand and one of the
constituents of GDP. The data are compiled
in the National Accounts. Final consumption
expenditure of households is divided into
12 categories, including health, communication
and education.
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58
MEASURING INNOVATION: A NEW PERSPECTIVE © OECD 2010
Consumers’ demand for innovation – EMPOWERING PEOPLE to innovate • 2.8
Percentage of households having invested in environmentally friendly products in the last ten years, 2008
Renewable energy (e.g. solar panels)
Energy-efficient electrical appliances (e.g. top-rated)
Energy-efficient lighting (e.g. compact flourescent)
Energy-efficient heating (e.g. condensing gas)
%
100
80
60
40
20
en
ay
Sw
ed
No
rw
nd
s
Ne
t he
rla
Me
xic
o
Ko
r ea
ly
e
Fra
nc
Ita
c
Cz
ec
h
Re
pu
bli
ad
a
Au
Ca
n
str
ali
a
0
Source: OECD (forthcoming), Environmental Policy and Household Behaviour: A Survey of OECD Countries, OECD, Paris.
1 2 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/835570672184
Monthly household expenditures on communication services, by type of access, 2007
Fixed
Mobile
Internet
Total
USD PPP
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
ry
ng
a
Hu
Ch
in a
Me
xic
o
d
Re
pu
bli
c
Po
rtu
ga
l
De
nm
ar k
Ze
ala
n
ec
h
Cz
ly
Ita
w
Ne
Be
lgi
um
es
tat
d
Un
ite
dS
Po
lan
ur
g
a
ad
xe
mb
o
Lu
Ca
n
pa
n
Ja
ay
e
Fra
nc
No
rw
y
ke
Tu
r
Sp
ain
itz
erl
an
d
Sw
ing
Un
ite
dK
I re
lan
d
do
m
0
Source: OECD (2009d), OECD Communications Outlook 2009, OECD, Paris.
1 2 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/835570672184
Measurability
Adoption of new environmentally friendly products is key to encouraging demand for “green” innovation.
Unfortunately, household-level data on the adoption of such innovations for a cross-section of OECD countries
is not available since standard commodity classifications do not offer a sufficient level of disaggregation.
Moreover, much of the data required to assess the determinants of household behaviour – including the use
of such innovations – are not reflected directly in consumer expenditure patterns. In order to fill this gap,
the OECD collected data from 10 000 households on issues such as waste generation, energy and water use,
personal transport and consumption of organic food. Work scheduled for 2011-12 focuses on the adoption
of eco-innovations.
National surveys were used to compare monthly spending by households on communication services with
a breakdown (for some countries) by type of access. Unfortunately, these surveys are not always easy to
compare since they use different questionnaires, definitions and methodologies. Countries such as Ireland,
Poland and the United States do not include Internet services in their data. As the question of spending on
ICT becomes more important, national surveys tend to become more detailed so that recent questionnaires
are more internationally comparable than older ones.
MEASURING INNOVATION: A NEW PERSPECTIVE © OECD 2010
59