Inter-American Development Bank (2016). Productivity, Technology and Innovation Survey Jamaica: 2013-2014. IDB Open Data. https://doi.org/10.60966/ltwui4g6

1. English

What is this dataset about?

This dataset comprises firm-level data from the Enterprise Survey 2010 and the PROTEqIN 2014 survey implemented in Jamaica (financed by the IDB). It is designed to help examine technology in Jamaica by enabling comparisons of innovation, productivity, and firm behavior over time.

What surveys and time periods are covered?

The dataset merges two cross-sectional survey rounds—2010 and 2014—to construct a pseudo-panel of firms for Jamaica.

Which institutions are responsible for this dataset?

The survey was conducted by the Country Department Caribbean Group (VPC/CCB) at the IDB as part of the Compete Caribbean/PROTEqIN initiative.

What kinds of variables are included?

• Firm outputs and inputs (sales, employment, capital)
• Technology adoption, R&D, innovation indicators
• Business environment factors, competition, trade, and firm demographics
• Survey documentation, questionnaires, and metadata

How might researchers use this data?

• To assess how technology in Jamaica relates to firm productivity and performance
• To compare the adoption of innovation and tech practices across Caribbean firms
• To identify constraints or facilitators of tech investment and adoption in Jamaica

What are the main limitations or caveats?

• The data is a pseudo-panel and not a true longitudinal panel
• Self-reporting may introduce measurement error or bias
• Structural changes outside of the survey window are not captured

What is the state of Jamaica's tech infrastructure?

Among the surveyed Jamaican firms in this IDB dataset, basic business connectivity was fairly widespread, but digital maturity remained uneven. Most firms used cell phones for operations (95.0%) and email to communicate with clients or suppliers (78.1%), but only 42.1% had their own website.

Internet reliability was a real business issue. 57.0% of surveyed firms reported internet outages or interruptions in the last fiscal year. Among firms that reported outages, the average was 8.8 outages per month, each lasting about 3.0 hours. Only 6.6% of firms had applied for an internet connection in the prior two years, and among those firms, the median reported wait time was 3 days.

Online commercial adoption was still limited. The average share of sales paid online was 5.3%, while the median was 0%, which suggests that many firms had no online-paid sales at all.

Innovation was present, but not widespread. 11.6% of firms said they had introduced a new or significantly improved good or service, and 12.4% reported marketing improvements. Among the firms that made marketing improvements, 56.7% used online promotion or new media techniques, and 40.0% reported developing online sales.

The survey also suggests that information gaps were holding firms back. 83.9% of firms rated the level of information on available technologies as a moderate, major, or very severe obstacle, and 89.7% said the same about the level of information on new market trends.