The growing importance of information technology raises significant challenges
for statisticians and economists. The US national accounts now incorporate
sophisticated measurement tools to capture the rapid rates of technological
change and dramatic improvements in the performance/price ratio of many hightech
assets like computer hardware, software, and telecommunications goods.
These data have been incorporated into traditional sources of growth analyses to
identify the impact of information technology on the US economy. The emerging
consensus is that information technology played a key role in the post-1995
revival of US productivity growth.