  National statistical systems are the enterprises tasked with collecting,
validating and reporting societal attributes. These data serve many purposes -
they allow governments to improve services, economic actors to traverse
markets, and academics to assess social theories. National statistical systems
vary in quality, especially in developing countries. This study examines
determinants of national statistical capacity in developing countries, focusing
on the impact of general purpose technologies (GPTs). Just as technological
progress helps to explain differences in economic growth, states with markets
with greater technological attainment (specifically, general purpose
technologies) arguably have greater capacity for gathering and processing
quality data. Analysis using panel methods shows a strong, statistically
significant positive linear relationship between GPTs and national statistical
capacity. There is no evidence to support a non-linear function in this
relationship. Which is to say, there does not appear to be a marginal
depreciating National Statistical Capacity benefit associated with increases in
GPTs.
