TY  - JOUR
AU  - Baily,Martin N.
AU  - Lawrence,Robert
TI  - Do We Have A New E-Conomy?
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 8243
PY  - 2001
Y2  - April 2001
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8243
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8243.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Martin Neil Baily
8500 Freyman Drive
Chevey Chase, MD 20815
E-Mail: mbaily@brookings.edu

Robert Z. Lawrence
JFK School of Government
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA  02138
Tel: 617/495-1118
Fax: 617/496-2850
E-Mail: robert_lawrence@harvard.edu
M2  - featured in NBER digest on 2001-08-01
AB  - Used properly, the term 'new e-conomy' is warranted. Since 1995, there has been a wave of innovation associated with both the production and use of information technology that has been translated into improved US economic performance.  In particular, there has been a substantial acceleration in trend total factor productivity growth.  Most of this acceleration actually took place outside of the computer sector. Almost none of the acceleration was cyclical.  There is now clear supportive evidence of an acceleration of productivity in service industries that are major purchasers of information technology such as finance and wholesale and retail trade. These gains reflect not only increased investment in information technology but also complementary innovations in business organization and policy. To be sure, as evidenced by recent financial market volatility, there have been speculative excesses, but these should not obscure the fundamental gains that have been made.
ER  -