ABSTRACT

Commercial bank investment in information technology (IT) equipment has grown rapidly, from $104 million in 1960 to more than $10 billion in 1994. These investments in “hard” technologies (computer hardware, software, telecommunications equipment, etc.) have been accompanied by increases in "soft" technologies, for example, complex financial innovations that were infeasible on a large scale without IT hardware. These developments, together with deregulation, are creating new competitors, new financial markets and instruments, and a new role for commercial banks as providers of financial services.

ABSTRACT

SUMMARY

From 1970 through 1991, the United States led other OECD countries in overall labor productivity, a key measure of national competitiveness. During this period, labor productivity in these countries converged, both towards the mean OECD labor productivity and the U.S. level of labor productivity. This suggests living standards among the OECD countries are becoming more alike. In the latter half of the period, the rate of convergence slowed.