The paper criticises the concept of total factor productivity as a measure of technical change and economic performance on two grounds: (i) theoretical, because it shares all the weaknesses of the neoclassical production function from which it is derived, (ii) its relevance in helping to...

The paper starts by reviewing some recent contributions on long waves, arguing that the present technological revolution in ICT is part of the broad phenomenon of a newlong wave. It follows that the main focus of economic policy should be to support the diffusion of the new technology and to...