Information Technology and the G7 Economies

A powerful surge in investment in information technology and equipment after 1995 characterizes all of the G7 economies, and accounts for a large portion of the resurgence in US economic growth, but contributes substantially to economic growth in the remaining G8 economies as well.

Abstract

In this paper I present international comparisons of economic growth among the G7 nations—Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S. These comparisons focus on the impact of investment in information technology (IT) equipment and software over the period 1980–2001. In 1998 the G7 nations accounted for nearly sixty percent of world output1 and a much larger proportion of world investment in IT. Economic growth in the G7 has experienced a strong revival since 1995, driven by a powerful surge in IT investment.