Emerging Digital Economy 2

摘要

This past year, electronic commerce has grown beyond almost everyone's expectations. Every day, more people are finding new ways to provide innovative products and services electronically. The Internet is changing the way businesses do business, from the acquisition and servicing of customers, to the management of their relations with suppliers. It is revolutionizing our access to information and the way we communicate, shop, and entertain ourselves. While the numbers are still small, when compared to our overall economy, they are growing more rapidly and provide more evidence that electronic commerce will be the engine for economic growth in the next century. This year's report provides more information about that growth and the changes that are taking place in our economy. It details the extraordinary contribution that telecommunications and information technology are making to the longest peacetime economic expansion in history. It provides fresh evidence that our Nation's massive investments in these sectors are producing gains in productivity and that these sectors are creating new and higher paying jobs faster than any other sector. But we are not yet able to give a complete picture of the Internet's effects on our economy. We intend to issue this report annually to better communicate the dramatic changes taking place.