The Internet has done a lot, but so far next to nothing for economic growth

This productivity paradox has caused angst and raised questions about whether the trillions invested in ICT could have been better invested elsewhere

The internet is transforming every aspect of our lives. It has become indispensable. But, so far, according to a new meta-analysis we have published in the Journal of Economic Surveys, the internet has done next to nothing for economic growth.

Vast resources have been thrown at information and communication technologies. Yet despite exponential growth in ICT and its integration into almost all aspects of our lives, economic growth is not demonstrably faster (and at the moment is demonstrably slower) than it was beforehand.

As Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Solow famously put it, “you can see the computer age everywhere