Measuring digital development: ranking using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and network readiness index (NRI)

Abstract

The Network Readiness Index (NRI) is one of the most prominent indicators that shows the digital development of countries. In contrast to the International Digital Economy and Social Index (I-DESI) of the European Union (EU), in 2020, it showed the development of 134 countries compared to 45 countries in I-DESI of EU, which measures only the most developed countries. The aim of this paper is to provide a viable alternative framework to the equal weights scheme of the original NRI scoring model using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Without Explicit Input (WEI) method and Common Weight Analysis (CWA) method. After determining the common weights, we compare the digital development of the countries in the NRI dataset based on the results obtained, focusing on the countries of the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region and the former Soviet Union.