Sociedade, Tecnologia e Inovação Empresarial - Presidente da ...

might have influenced negatively European aggregate growth, someother, new factors must come into the picture, particularly withrespect to the US. More than any other country in the world, theUS economy appears to have benefited from faster application andimplementation of new technologies, more rapid uptake of the newso-called «information highways» infrastructure, and more successfulworld-wide commercial exploitation of these growth opportunities.Figure 3bReal GDP Per Capita 1991-1999(1991 = 100)130120110100901991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999AustriaBelgiumDenmarkNetherlandsFinlandGreeceIrelandSwedenIn short, the US seems to have been the most successful countryin making its transition to a «new», more knowledge-basedeconomy. Whether such growth divergence process can be sustainedfor a long period, particularly in view of the open, globalfinancial and information networks, remains of course an openquestion. Here the focus was on the appearance and relativelyunpredicted nature of the growth divergence process between theUS and Europe over the nineties. It brings to the forefront the factthat Europe might have been ill prepared to enter the knowledgebasedeconomy.Debates2 8 6Sociedade, Tecnologia e Inovação Empresarial