Pre-publication report of a National Academy workshop. Workshop panels include: Defining and Measuring the New Economy; Drivers of the New Economy; Communications and Software; Applications and Policy Issues.

From the Executive Summary: "Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Americans and American businesses regularly invested in ever more powerful and cheaper computers. ... By the mid-1990s, however, new data began to reveal an acceleration of growth accompanying a transformation of economic activity. ... This period also coincides with the widespread adoption of the Internet ... The New Economy addresses changes in the US economy ..."

"Change is often slow to become apparent in ways that can be readily measured ... Innovations in information technologies are believed to be fueling [a] boost in productivity. ... Developments in the semiconductor industry have enabled a swift decline in the price of information technologies. ..."