The economic significance of the calibration and surveying system (2023)

This report undertaken by the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO) is an update of the study with the same title from 2021 which conducted a comprehensive examination of the economic significance of metrology and surveying in Austria based on the specific activities of the Federal Office for Metrology and Surveying (BEV). It examines the functions and tasks, as well as the value to society (‘public value’) of the services provided by the metrology and surveying sector.

Metrology and surveying supplies metrological infrastructure and reliable geoinformation. It provides complex services that are essential for the functioning of an economy. These include uniform reference systems (e.g., coordinate systems, national measurement standards), reliable geoinformation (e.g., cartographic models/works, property cadastres), as well as a quality-checked metrological infrastructure (calibrations, verification sites, packaged goods inspection, and market surveillance, etc.).

The Metrology and Surveying sector has a variety of effects on the quality and development potential of the economic location. The industry:

• secures demand, especially for goods with high and individually difficult-to-verify quality
• reduces transaction costs, e.g., for private checks or certifications
• facilitates access to foreign markets for the export economy and strengthens confidence in the European internal market
• creates incentives for performance and entrepreneurial initiative, as unfair competition is suppressed and quality competition is rewarded

There is practically no economic sector that is not affected by location-based data or the quality of measures and measuring instruments. In addition to the manufacture of measuring, control, and testing instruments, the sectors that frequently utilise the services of metrology and surveying and rely on their high quality are:

• agriculture and forestry
• food industry
• transport and utility networks
• construction and real estate industry

The more reliably these services are provided, the less the public is aware of them, and the smoother the processes they support run. The focus of the study is on institutionalised confidence-building as the basis for the coordination of numerous economic activities.