A New Economy? : The Changing Role of Innovation and Information Technology in Growth

What is driving recent growth in OECD countries? Why is it that their levels of GDP per capita are no longer converging? Why is it that some countries, operating at the technological frontier, where advances are difficult, appear to be widening the gap? This study shows that success requires not some silver bullet, but a range of complementary factors that support the innovation-intensive growth exemplified by new information and communication technologies such as the Internet and Internet applications like electronic commerce. Supportive policies include those favorable to innovative start-ups and to financial systems able to support them, those that facilitate the reorganization required to reap the full benefits of ICT, regulatory and institutional frameworks that facilitate links between science and industry, and efforts to train and obtain the necessary human capital, as well as public support for basic scientific research.