The broadband provider Virgin Media has published a new study that calls for the UK to invest more money in digital technology to boost the economy by £232 billion (6.9%) by 2040. The study was written in collaboration with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).
The new study was done to help examine ways that technology can support the UK’s economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. While COVID-19 has sped up the adoption of digital solutions, the report’s authors believe that there"s still a lot more that could be done. Investment in services and infrastructure could boost the economy by £75 billion, investment in digital health and social care could be worth £33 billion, and changes to justice, central and local government could be worth another £32 billion.
Commenting on the report, Director of Economic Analysis at CEBR Cristian Niculescu-Marcu said:
“Within this research we have examined the potential economic impact of a wave of digital transformation, driven by the rollout of new ways of working and connecting. This could create an economic high road over the coming decades, helping the UK economy to grow while also having the flexibility to deal with future challenges.”
By investing more money into digital technology, it’s expected that the productivity of the workforce would increase by enabling people to work from home, access to services would be increased, meaning people could more easily educate themselves while businesses can get things done faster. Richer data will be available for AI and analysts which could help the economy in other ways, too.