Data Value Assessment in Digital Economy Based on Backpropagation Neural Network Optimized by Genetic Algorithm
Xujiang Qin, Qi He, Xin Zhang, Xiang Yang · Symmetry · 2025
As a new form of economic activity driven by data resources and digital technologies, the digital economy underscores the strategic significance of data as a core production factor. This growing importance necessitates accurate and robust valuation methods. Data valuation poses core modeling challenges due to its nonlinear nature and the instability of neural networks, including gradient vanishing, parameter sensitivity, and slow convergence. To overcome these challenges, this study proposes a genetic algorithm-optimized BP (GA-BP) model, enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of data valuation. The BP neural network employs a symmetrical architecture, with neurons organized in layers and information transmitted symmetrically during both forward and backward propagation. Similarly, the genetic algorithm maintains a symmetric evolutionary process, featuring symmetric operations in both crossover and mutation. The empirical data used in this study are sourced from the Shanghai Data Exchange, comprising 519 data samples. Based on this dataset, the model incorporates 9 primary indicators and 21 secondary indicators to comprehensively assess data value, optimizing network weights and thresholds through the genetic algorithm. Experimental results show that the GA-BP model outperforms the traditional BP network in terms of mean squared error (MSE), root mean squared error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and coefficient of determination (R2), achieving a 47.6% improvement in prediction accuracy. Furthermore, GA-BP exhibits faster convergence and greater stability. When compared to other models such as long short-term memory (LSTM), convolutional neural networks (CNNs), and optimization-based BP variants like particle swarm optimization BP (PSO-BP) and whale optimization algorithm BP (WOA-BP), GA-BP demonstrates superior generalization and robustness. This approach provides valuable insights into the commercialization of data assets.