Big data is on the rise and governments have fallen behind in setting global standards on its collection, storage and usage. Instead, governments are playing catch-up with harnessing the technology that controls data. This was the backdrop to a Chatham House webinar held on 15 February 2021, where several high-profile panellists explored how governments and businesses should negotiate this new era of international data diplomacy. They discussed how current governance trends on personal data prot...
BIGPROD’s official kick-off meeting took place at the Maastricht University Brussels Campus on 22 January 2020. The goal of the BIGPROD project is to extend existing econometric approaches to productivity, such as the Crepon-Duguet-Mairesse (CDM) model, with theoretically sound ‘Big data’ measures that are operationalised, validated through pilots and communicated to relevant stakeholders. This is achieved by uncovering the origins of the productivity slowdown in most Western economies. Ba...
When I drive to work every day, most of my journey is recorded by cameras. Information about my route and speed of travel, as well as that of other people on the road at the time, can be used by governments to improve our national infrastructure, among many other things. It is the job of politicians to decide how much to invest, not only on roads but also alternatives, including incentives to avoid rush hour or switch to public transport. But what exactly feeds into this policymaking? Transport ...