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The Role of Information and Communications Technology in Improving Productivity and Economic Growth in Europe: Empirical Evidence and an Industry View of Policy Challenges

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Abstract

There is a broad consensus among economists and policymakers concerning two major phenomena: that the European Union’s economic performance has not matched the ambitions formulated in the Lisbon agenda of 2000, and that the EU has not reaped the same benefits from modern Information and Communications Technology (ICT) as has the United States. The EU’s economic performance has been particularly disappointing given the strong expansion of the global and US economies in recent years. ICT has not led to productivity improvements and economic growth in the EU to the same extent as it has in the US, thus pointing to one reason for the comparatively weaker economic performance of the EU. Policymakers in Brussels and across Europe have acknowledged this situation and reacted with a number of policy initiatives at both the EU- and national level.

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Pols, A. (2007). The Role of Information and Communications Technology in Improving Productivity and Economic Growth in Europe: Empirical Evidence and an Industry View of Policy Challenges. In: Tilly, R., Welfens, P., Heise, M. (eds) 50 Years of EU Economic Dynamics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74055-1_11

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