Making the Most of the Information Age: Productivity and Structural Reform in the New Economy

Beginning as a barely perceptible ripple 10 to 15 years ago, information and communication technology (ICT) are now driving a broad wave of productivity gains. Using new, internationally comparative evidence, this study examines the patterns of ICT diffusion across advanced industrial economies--patterns which help to explain the U.S. lead in productivity over the vast majority of OECD countries in the past half-decade.

Topics covered:

• How does ICT Affect Growth?
• ICT and International Labor Productivity
• Structural Reforms Unlock the New Economy
• To Improve Market Performance ICT Needs a New Institutional Framework

Special features:

• key findings
• executive summary
• more than 10 tables and charts