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To: david who wrote (134597)	6/25/1999 2:50:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Respond to of 176387

<-OT->Digital Economy Drives U.S. Growth By Maryann Jones Thompson/Industry Standard If you aren't working in the digital economy today, you might want to warm up to the idea. Among the dozens of economic statistics released this week by the Department of Commerce was a forecast that almost half of the American work force will be employed by information-technology-related companies in 2006. "The Emerging Digital Economy II" underscored the power of the IT and Internet industries. Though the digital economy represented only 8 percent of U.S. GDP between 1995 and 1998, it contributed 35 percent of the economy's real growth. Furthermore, the success of the digital economy has helped to control inflation. During 1996 to 1997 – the most recent time period for which data are available – falling prices on IT products lowered inflation by an average of 0.7 percent. The report also detailed the significant productivity of the IT industry: From 1990 to 1997, digital economy companies achieved a "robust" 10.4 percent average growth rate in value added each year per worker. And these IT workers earned more than non-IT folks. E-commercewise, both retail and business-to-business revenues will continue to grow dramatically. The report said online retail sales to consumers should hit $40 to $80 billion by 2002 and cited Forrester Research (FORR) 's corporate e-commerce forecast of $1.3 trillion by 2003. But the Commerce Department's study pointed out that, despite the glowing future of consumer e-commerce, such revenue is currently less than one percent of the U.S. retail economy. "The Emerging Digital Economy" series began last year as an attempt to understand the impact of the Internet and IT industries because economic indicators and industry classifications don't allow for accurate assessment of the digital economy. The study is now conducted annually. "It is clear that tracking Internet business, especially in a timely way, requires new economic measures and measurement techniques," wrote Robert Shapiro, undersecretary of Commerce for economic affairs in the report's introduction. The Commerce Department has already taken several steps in that direction. Earlier this year, the Census Bureau announced an initiative to track e-commerce as part of its retail sales survey. Census also created a new business classification system which includes extensive coverage of digital economy industries. And last month in Washington, D.C., the Commerce Department hosted a forum for policy makers, academics and industry experts to figure out how to better measure the digital economy. Here's a suggestion: Drop "Emerging" from "The Digital Economy III."