A world in which rapid change is a constant. A world at least as different from what came before it as the industrial age was from its agricultural predecessor. So an information economy is more open it doesn t take a production line to compete, just a good idea. But it s also more competitive. Information is easy not just to duplicate, but to replicate.
Successful firms have to keep innovating to keep ahead of copycats nipping at their heels.
The average size of companies shrinks. New products and knockoffs alike emerge in months rather than years, and market power is increasingly based on making sense of an overabundance of ideas rather than rationing scarce material goods. What s true is that the shift to an information economy is redefining how we need to think about both good times and bad. We don t know how to measure this new economy, because the productivity of a decisionmaker is harder to grasp than the productivity of someone bolting together cars. It is also clear that because most critical economic development actions are local, the important elements of a community should band together to create opportunities for citizens to engage and prosper in the emerging economy.