McKinsey & Company
Report| McKinsey Global Institute

Whatever happened to the new economy?

November 2002 | byBill Lewis, Diana Farrell, Mike Nevens, Lenny Mendonca, Vincent Palmade, Greg Hughes, James Manyika, Heino Fabender, Eric Labaye, Shyam Lal, Roger Roberts

The shift from embrace to repudiation of a "new economy" has been rapid and dramatic. Before the NASDAQ bubble burst, assertions abounded that IT and the Internet were changing everything.

Audio presentation

MGI Director Diana Farrell presents the findings from Whatever Happened to the New Economy?

Today, with the technology sector mired in a deep slump, hyperbole has given way to despair. The truth lies somewhere in between. But where?

MGI's paper, "Whatever Happened to the New Economy?," distills insights from more than two years of research into the relationship between IT and labor productivity across 20 sectors in the US, France, and Germany. Taken as a whole, MGI's work shows both that the new economy was misunderstood in the past, and that recent reports of its demise have been greatly exaggerated. Our intent is to put the new economy into perspective and to identify ways that technology enables innovation and thereby creates lasting economic value.

McKinsey Global Institute

McKinsey Global Institute

Our business and economics research arm, informing management and policy decisions since 1990.more

About this research

This report draws on applied research carried out by McKinsey consultants. To learn more about our expertise please visit Mckinsey Global Institute, High Tech Practice, Business Technology Practice. Mckinsey Global Institute,