Western Europe can meet the technology challenge

摘要

Globalization and the rapid spread of new technologies are making the advanced economies increasingly information-based. Indeed, information has become a new factor of production, with information and communications technology spurring the developments of innovative products, and hence growth, in many sectors. The industries with the best prospects are those which are able to turn technical advances into commercially viable processes and products. Western European firms, frequently claimed to be slow in applying new technologies, do not generally lag as far behind as their critics assert.