Open Source Software: Measuring the Value Using GitHub

How can the value of rapidly growing open source software (OSS) be economically quantified? In a recent study published in Research Policy, “From GitHub to GDP: A framework for measuring open source software innovation,” researchers address this question by proposing a methodology to measure OSS’s value using GitHub data.

Led by Gizem Korkmaz, PhD, a Westat Associate Vice President, in the study, the researchers collected data from over 7.6 million repositories, which included information about contributors and development activity. By implementing a cost model adapted from software engineering and aligning with U.S. national accounting standards, they generated estimates showing a $37.8 billion investment from the U.S. in 2019 with a current-cost net stock of $74.3 billion.