--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-4/the-roots-of-the-new-economy-an-institutional-perspective/" title: "The Roots of the New Economy: An Institutional Perspective" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T05:42:45+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T06:38:15+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Spring 2002" ipm_keyword: - "Europe" - "ICT" - "institutions" - "labour markets" - "new economy" - "organizational change" - "productivity" - "structural change" - "United States" ipm_research_theme: - "Policy and institutions" - "Technology and innovation" ipm_country_focus: - "Europe" - "Finland" - "France" - "Ireland" - "United States" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # The Roots of the New Economy: An Institutional Perspective Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-4/the-roots-of-the-new-economy-an-institutional-perspective/ # The Roots of the New Economy: An Institutional Perspective [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-4-4-Petit.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Petit, Pascal. 2002. “The Roots of the New Economy: An Institutional Perspective.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 4 (Spring 2002): 39–52. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-4/the-roots-of-the-new-economy-an-institutional-perspective/ ## Author: - Pascal Petit CEPREMAP / CNRS, Paris ## IPM Issue 4 Spring 2002 pp. 39–52 ## Related IPM articles [The Relationship between Efficiencies Defenses for Mergers and TFP Growth Robin Shaban Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 82–102](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/the-relationship-between-efficiencies-defenses-for-mergers-and-tfp-growth/) [Adult Skills and Productivity: New Evidence from PIAAC 2023 Dan Andrews, Balázs Égert, Christine de La Maisonneuve Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 41–63](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/adult-skills-and-productivity-new-evidence-from-piaac-2023/) [The Potential Impact of Pro-competitive Regulatory Reforms on Productivity and Growth in Canada Gilbert Cette, Jimmy Lopez, Giuseppe Nicoletti, Océane Vernerey Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 3–40](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/the-potential-impact-of-pro-competitive-regulatory-reforms-on-productivity-and-growth-in-canada/) [De-industrialization and the Great Productivity Slowdown: What Comes Next? 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The Canadian Experience Tim Sargent Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 39–53](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/how-does-industrial-policy-impact-output-hours-and-productivity-the-canadian-experience/) [Climate Change and Productivity — An Exploration Dirk Pilat Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 54–86](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/climate-change-and-productivity-an-exploration/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn This article analyses the structural, institutional, and organizational changes underlying the New Economy, focusing on whether the U.S. productivity acceleration of the late 1990s is sustainable and whether it will spread to major European countries. The author argues that the New Economy is driven by a combination of ICT diffusion, flexible labour markets, and complementary institutional reforms. European countries face structural barriers — including stronger labour protections, less flexible product markets, and weaker venture capital markets — that limit the replicability of the U.S. experience, though smaller economies like Ireland and Finland offer partial models. Cet article analyse les changements structurels, institutionnels et organisationnels sous-jacents à la nouvelle économie, en se concentrant sur la question de savoir si l’accélération de la productivité américaine de la fin des années 1990 est durable et si elle se propagera aux grandes économies européennes. L’auteur soutient que la nouvelle économie est portée par une combinaison de la diffusion des TIC, de marchés du travail flexibles et de réformes institutionnelles complémentaires. Les pays européens font face à des obstacles structurels — notamment une protection plus forte des travailleurs, des marchés de produits moins flexibles et des marchés de capital-risque moins développés — qui limitent la reproductibilité de l’expérience américaine, bien que les petites économies comme l’Irlande et la Finlande offrent des modèles partiels. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-4-4-Petit.pdf)