2134/21850
Hailin Liao
Hailin
Liao
Bin Wang
Bin
Wang
Baibing Li
Baibing
Li
Thomas G. Weyman-Jones
Thomas G.
Weyman-Jones
ICT as a general-purpose technology: The productivity of ICT in the United States revisited
Loughborough University
2016
Bayesian inference
General purpose technology
Information and communication technology
IT diffusion and adoption
Stochastic frontier analysis
Total factor productivity
Information Systems
Library and Information Studies
Business and Management not elsewhere classified
2016-06-28 09:13:59
Journal contribution
https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/journal_contribution/ICT_as_a_general-purpose_technology_The_productivity_of_ICT_in_the_United_States_revisited/9503273
Researchers have long been puzzled by ICT's (Information and Communication Technology) contributions towards (productivity) growth. This paper investigates and reveals the multi-facets of ICT productivity and the mechanism through which ICT affects productivity by bringing all the distinct streams of existing findings together. In particular, we develop a two-level frontier-efficiency model to examine how ICT's direct and indirect impact on different components of productivity is related to the economic growth in the US. Our empirical analysis has confirmed that ICT investment does contribute to productivity but not in the usual manner - we find a positive (but lagged) ICT effect on technological progress. We argue that for a positive ICT role on growth to actually take place, a period of negative relationship between productivity and ICT investment together with ICT-using sectors' capacity to learn from the embodied new technology was crucial. In addition, it took a learning period with appropriate complementary co-inventions for the new ICT-capital to become effective and its gains to be realized. Our findings provide solid, further empirical evidence to support ICT as a general purpose technology.