Productivity: lost in cyberspace

IF THIS is an era in which economies can enjoy rapid growth and low unemployment with no risk of inflation, information technology gets much of the credit. Much of the case for a new economic paradigm rests on the belief that computers and telecoms have boosted the growth of productivity and thereby removed the speed limit on economic growth. In the words of George Gilder, a noted techno-optimist, information technology is “the biggest technological juggernaut that ever rolled”.