ADVISORY/Where to Find the Productivity Gains from Innovation?

Business Editors

ADVISORY...Feb. 18 (Tues.)

--(BUSINESS WIRE)

WHAT: Where to find the productivity gains from innovation?

      The surge in U.S. productivity growth that began in the
      mid-1990s has generated considerable debate among
      economists. While most agree that the boom in information
      technology (IT) investment greatly contributed to this
      surge, many argue whether this contribution is mostly due
      to productivity gains in the manufacture of IT goods or
      whether the productivity gains flowed downstream to the
      users of IT goods in other industries.

WHO: Dan Wilson, Economist
     Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

WHEN: Available on the Internet - Tuesday, February 18, 2003 at 8:00
      AM PST:

    www.frbsf.org/publications/economics/letter/2003/el2003-04.html

WHY: If productivity gains do flow downstream to users, then it is
     more likely that aggregate productivity growth will persist for
     many years, even if the pace of innovation were to stall, as
     downstream industries continue to discover productive uses of the
     new technology.

     Business reporters researching productivity trends and seeking
     neutral, third-party input to bring perspective to their
     stories may wish to contact Economist Dan Wilson directly at
     [phone] [e-mail].