Working Paper: NBER ID: w11093
Authors: Boyan Jovanovic; Peter L. Rousseau
Abstract: Electricity and Information Technology (IT) are perhaps the two most important general purpose technologies (GPTs) to date. We analyze how the U.S. economy reacted to them. The Electricity and IT eras are similar, but also differ in several important ways. Electrification was more broadly adopted, whereas IT seems to be technologically more "revolutionary." The productivity slowdown is stronger in the IT era but the ongoing spread of IT and its continuing precipitous price decline are reasons for optimism about growth in the 21st century.
Keywords: General Purpose Technologies; Electricity; Information Technology; Economic Growth; Productivity
JEL Codes: O3; N2
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Electricity (L94) | Productivity Slowdown (O49) |
| Electricity (L94) | Economic Output (E23) |
| Information Technology (M15) | Productivity Slowdown (O49) |
| Information Technology (M15) | Economic Growth (O49) |
| Electricity (L94) | Productivity Growth (O49) |
| Information Technology (M15) | Future Economic Growth (O49) |