New Economy - Defining The New Economy

The concept of a New Economy wasn't born with the dot-com craze or the 1990s economic boom. The idea surfaced years earlier, particularly in the early 1980s when sophisticated computers began to effect sweeping changes both in the factory, where computer automation overhauled production processes, and in consumer markets, with households rapidly purchasing personal computers for their homes.

Pinpointing a clear definition of the New Economy was difficult, as so many commentators weighed in with various and often-contradictory definitions. For example, some viewed the entire economic spectrum as wholly transformed, while others conceived of the New Economy as a sector that coexisted with other, traditional economic sectors. Still others simply viewed the New Economy as a set of practices and approaches to doing business that was fundamentally distinguished from those of the Old Economy.

Loosely, however, the business sectors that the New Economy claims as its base include high-technology equipment and consumer products, e-commerce in all its forms, innovative IT-led financial services, high-tech telecommunications, and other IT goods and services. What follows are some general characteristics proposed by enthusiasts of the New Economy.