The tech sector is finally delivering on its promise
1 min read
The internet has been a productivity bust — until now, when it’s emerged as vital.
Internet and mobile phone technology have transformed daily life over the past ten years. Nobody needs to stop and ask for directions anymore, worry about night and weekend minutes, or wait for the nightly newscast to catch up on sports scores. Today’s kids struggle with the concept of television shows airing at specific times and take for granted that grandma’s face is just a couple of touchscreen pushes away.
But despite an incredible volume of hype about the economic impact of digital technology the harsh reality is that productivity growth during this period has been very slow.
Productivity — the value of a worker’s output during a given period of time — is a fundamental concept in economics. Rising productivity makes it possible for wages to rise without leading to inflation. Rising productivity creates a tax base that can be used to fund useful public programs. Rising productivity is why, fundamentally, people living in 2020 are much richer than people living in 1920 or 1820 or before. And in terms of raising productivity, the internet has largely been a bust. […]
