Preface: Technology, growth, and the labor market

In recent years, economic prognosticators have pondered whether the U.S. economy has entered a new era characterized by technological innovations that have raised productivity and, accordingly, removed pricing power from producers. Although the 2001 recession quelled debate about whether the United States, and perhaps the world, had entered a period of sustained high levels of economic growth, researchers continue to investigate the economic effects of technological change. ; This issue of the Economic Review contains four articles that examine the underpinnings of the \"new economy\"-technology and its effects on macroeconomic growth and the labor market. These papers were among those presented at the \"Technology, Growth, and the Labor Market\" conference sponsored by the research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University in January this year. This preface summarizes all the speeches, papers, and discussant comments presented at the conference.