Spending on the Information Superhighway isn’t likely to slow … even if current interest rates rise or the economy temporarily flags … The impact of their investments will have a powerful multiplier effect on the economy in coming years … Much of the gain from telecommunications investments will stay in the domestic economy, too, because U.S. producers account for a major chunk of the world telecom industry.
Predictor: Farrell, Christopher
Prediction, in context:In a 1993 article for BusinessWeek, Christopher Farrell and Michael Mandel look at the coming investment in networked communications. They write: ”Spending on the Information Superhighway isn’t likely to slow … even if current interest rates rise or the economy temporarily flags. ‘It’s investment in response to opportunities and technologies that didn’t exist before,’ says Chris Varvares, an economist at forecaster Laurence H. Meyer & Associates. True enough, the Baby Bells and other telecom companies are cutting jobs, even as they accelerate their investment efforts. But the impact of their investments will have a powerful multiplier effect on the economy in coming years. Here’s how: Higher investment rates boost productivity. Faster productivity growth raises real incomes. Consumers spend more, companies start hiring, and the economic tempo picks up. Much of the gain from telecommunications investments will stay in the domestic economy, too, because U.S. producers account for a major chunk of the world telecom industry.”
Date of prediction: November 1, 1993
Topic of prediction: Economic structures
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: BusinessWeek
Title, headline, chapter name: What’s Arriving on the Information Highway? Growth
Quote Type: Partial quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 40
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney