how long the technological changes will have an effect, but i have every reason to believe that it will affect developments in sweden for the next few years, which basically comprises the monetary policy target horizon. on the other hand, there is in my opinion nothing to indicate that the “ new economy ” has invalidated any fundamental economic connections. at the same time, rapid changes such as those we are now experiencing involve greater uncertainty. no one can say with any great precision how productivity will develop over the next few years and how large a role it will play in its development. this uncertainty is enhanced by the difficulty in measuring the it sector ’ s significance as a result of shortcomings in swedish statistics. uncertainty over the total effects of technological developments means that we must show greater sensitivity when formulating monetary policy. let me call it being more “ reactive ” than would otherwise have been the case. by reactive, i mean that we must constantly reconsider our earlier assessments in the light of developments in the economy and the way the various parts actually react. i maintain that this has in many ways been a characteristic of our inflation reports over the past year. these reflect clearly how the view of potential growth and the connection between inflation and growth have changed as a result of the riksbank ’ s analyses and models taking account of structural changes in their assessments. the repo rate could not have remained at its current level if price levels had not been affected by deregulation on several markets and the fact that we can see a positive development in productivity. then there are of course a number of other important factors that must be taken into account, labour supply, wage formation, international price developments and, in particular, confidence in the monetary policy. however, developments in productivity will continue to play a central role in the assessments. the riksbank monitors the various signs of the “ new economy ” and takes them very seriously.

primarily serve as indicators of future growth. 4. technology dissemination users as a percentage of total population ( unless indicated otherwise ) 0 % p c - u s a g e s o u r c e s : n e t p r o f it, f t 20 % 40 % 60 % 80 % 100 % s weden us a g e rm a ny 2 in te r n e tusage s o u r c e s : n e t s iz e r, f t s weden us a g e rm a ny 6 e - c o m m e r c e u s e rs a s s h a re o f in t e r n e t - u s e r s. s weden us a 9 g e r m a n y1 0 s o u r c e s : n e t p r o f it, f t u s e r s o f in te r n e t b a n k in g s e r v ic e s s o u r c e s : s a lo m o n s m it h b a r n e y, f t s weden us a g e r m a n y1 4 m o b ile u s e r s s o u r c e s : n e t pr o f it, f t s w e d e n1 7 us a g e r m a n y1 8 users of m o b i l e in t e r n e t s o u r c e s : n e t pr o f it, ip s o s, f t s w e d e n2 1 us a g e rm a ny however, sweden ’ s relatively high growth rate and low inflation rate can at the same time be partly explained by the fact that we are still absorbing spare resources and labour laid off in connection with the crisis at the beginning of the 1990s. the gap between actual and potential growth does not appear to be completely closed, while the riksbank and others perceive that this gap is well and truly closed in the usa. there are thus a few pieces of the puzzle remaining before we can feel convinced that sweden is moving towards a us development : how large is the it sector in the swedish economy? how important is the it sector to the rest of the swedish economy? what does it mean to productivity in sweden? unfortunately i have to say now that we know too little about