At the Lisbon Summit in March 2000, there was no mention of the problems of slow productivity growth. Nor was the Asian challenge discussed. Nowadays, neither of these topics can be brushed aside. Since 2000, the European Commission and also the ECB have been putting much effort into finding the reasons for the difference in productivity growth between Europe and the United States.
Research has revealed that the difference is related to the development of information and communication technology. This development is as important as the electrification that started about 100 years ago. There are two reasons why ICT development explains the difference between productivity growth in Europe and in the United States. First, the ICT industry is more important in the US economy than in Europe.