Fact of the Week: Electricity and the Internal Combustion Engine Together Accounted for 30 Percent of U.S. Productivity Growth From 1899 to 1941

General purpose technologies—innovations that radically restructure economies—have been key drivers of economic growth throughout history. As a recent example, information technologies such as computers, the Internet, and smart phones have accounted for more than half of U.S. productivity growth from the late 20th century to present.

Economists who analyze general purpose technologies find similar economic contributions from other such advances. One such study finds that the invention of electricity and the internal combustion engine together accounted for 30 percent of U.S. productivity growth from 1899 to 1941. But given the limitations of historic data, this is likely an underestimate, as the economists were only able to analyze the impact of these technologies on a narrow selection of industries rather than across the entire U.S. economy.