The Emerging World‐Wide Information Economy
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb047669 |
| Published date | 01 April 1986 |
| Pages | 79-86 |
| Date | 01 April 1986 |
| Author | Michael Rogers Rubin |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
The Emerging World-Wide
Information Economy
Michael Rogers Rubin
The creation, handling and distribution
of information is fast becoming
a major economic activity for all
nations of the world, be they rich or poor,
developed or less developed. Even in
countries where there is little
production of information goods or
services, employment in information
related activities is often high.
The definition and size of the
information producing and knowledge
worker labor force in the
United States are reviewed and
compared to that in other
countries. Changing patterns of
international trade in information
goods and services is also discussed.
The emergence of a fast-growing information
sector in the United States economy has been widely
proclaimed during the last two decades. But even
as the idea of a dynamic information sector in
this country has become commonplace, the relative
growth of the information sector in the United
States has slowed to a crawl and, finally, has stopped.
At the same time that the information sector has
reached maturity in this country, however, a global
information economy has begun to emerge.
Virtually all countries in the West are becoming
insatible consumers of information goods and services.
The usage of computer files and data communications
circuits, for example, have skyrocketed in both
domestic and international trade. Paradoxically,
this great appetite for information goods and services
has been both created and satisfied by the emergence
of a new class of workers, whose product is neither
farm goods nor machinery, but, rather, is knowledge.
These "information" workers operate the machines
of the information age, and create the new knowledge
that is driving it forward. They demand ever more
information as the raw material from which they
produce their product—more information.
The labor force of information workers is
a large part of the total number of people employed
in the United States, the countries of Western
Europe, and, surprisingly, of many countries that
have traditionally been thought of as less developed,
including most Central and South American countries.
In all of these countries, the presence of this labor
force of information workers has created a huge
demand for the computers, telecommunications equip-
ment, and other machinery that drive the information
sector. In short, the presence of large, well-trained
Rubin is currently practicing as an attorney
and economist. The views expressed in this article
are strictly his own. He is principal author of
The Knowledge Industry in the United States,
1960-1980, which was recently published by Prince-
ton University Press. He has also authored In-
formation Economics and Policy in the United
States, Littleton, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1983.
ISSUE 16 79
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