Man vs. Machine

Why a slowdown in tech progress is good news for jobs

Remember the booming economy of the 1990s? A big factor in that growth was technology, which fueled productivity gains at a much faster clip than it does now. Moore's law--the observation credited to Intel co-founder Gordon Moore that computer chips double in power roughly every 18 months--appeared to be squarely in effect. From 1995 to 2005, large companies invested heavily in technology that increased efficiency and productivity, eventually creating entirely new areas of business and boosting employment growth. The fact that American companies invested more than, for example, European ones is a key reason many U.S. multinationals increased revenue and market...

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