Technology Dissemination and Economic Growth: Some Lessons for the New Economy

Danny Quah

CEP Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Performance, LSE

Abstract: This paper attempts to draw lessons for the New Economy from what economists know about technology dissemination and economic growth. It argues that what is most notable about the New Economy is that it is knowledge-driven, not just in the sense that knowledge now assumes increasing importance in production, thereby raising productivity. Instead, it is that consumption occurs increasingly in goods that are like knowledge - computer software, video entertainment, gene sequences, Internet-delivered goods and services - where material physicality matters little. That knowledge is aspatial and nonrival is key. Understanding the effective exchange and dissemination of such knowledge-products will matter more than resolving the so-called productivity paradox.

Keywords: aspatial; demand; endogenous growth; endogenous technology; human capital; Industrial Revolution; infinitely expansible; neoclassical growth; nonrival; productivity paradox; weightless economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N10 N15 O33 O57 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2002-03
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15) Track citations by RSS feed

Downloads: (external link)
https://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/DP0522.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp0522

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in CEP Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Performance, LSE
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ().