In the fight against the Coronavirus, digital technology is playing an unprecedented role in the maintenance of daily life and economic and social activities, as well as in the recovery of industry and business. The Coronavirus pandemic could become a tipping point for digitalisation – the dawn of a new era – by accelerating the maturity of digital technology: what was once a ‘nice to have’ could now become a ‘crucial to have’.

In this context, a new EIB report, “Who is prepared for the new digital age? Evidence from the EIB Investment Survey”, will be published at 10.30 a.m. Brussels time on Monday 20 April 2020.

It analyses investment in, and adoption of, digital technologies by firms in the EU and the United States and provides evidence of better performance of digital firms compared to non-digital ones. By providing country-level analytics the report helps countries to assess areas in which their firms perform well and the ones in which they might need policy reforms to better promote digitalisation. The report draws from two unique sets of data: the European Investment Bank Survey (EIBIS) 2019, and the EIBIS Start-up and Scale-up Survey 2019.

The report, together with the EU country-level analytics, will be available under embargo on Thursday 16 April. Requests should be sent by email to press@eib.org. In asking to receive it under embargo, journalists undertake to respect the publication time of 10.30 a.m. on Monday 20 April 2020.

The report will be available on the EIB’s website on Monday 20 April at 10.30 a.m. for immediate release:

https://www.eib.org/en/publications/who-is-prepared-for-the-new-digital-age

Background information

About the Economics Department of the EIB

The EIB Economics Department provides economic research and studies, as well as unique analysis of investment activities in the EU and beyond, and supports the Bank in its operations and in the definition of its positioning, strategy and policy. Chief Economist Debora Revoltella heads the Department, a team of 40 economists.

About the EIB Investment Survey (EIBIS)

The EIB Group Survey on Investment and Investment Finance is a unique, annual survey of some 13,500 firms. It comprises firms in all EU Member States, as well as a sample of US firms which serves as a benchmark. It collects data on firm characteristics and performance, past investment activities and future plans, sources of finance, financing issues and other challenges that businesses face. Using a stratified sampling methodology, EIBIS is representative across all Member States of the EU and for the US, as well as for firm size classes (micro to large) and four main sectors. It is designed to build a panel of observations to support time series analysis, observations that can also be linked to firm balance sheet and profit and loss data. EIBIS has been developed and is managed by the Economics Department of the EIB, with support for development and implementation by Ipsos MORI.

For more information see: http://www.eib.org/eibis.