New economy means constantly changing focus

Everyone agrees that Utah and the world have entered an era some are calling the “new economy.”

That’s where the agreement ends.

Dave Hardman, president of the Ogden/Weber Chamber of Commerce, sees the new economy as the booming tech-driven climate growing jobs in Weber County. He says growth is driven by a reputation for outdoor sports that has replaced agriculture and railroads.

Pam Perlich, of the University of Utah’s Bureau of Economics and Business Research, says the new economy is the post-industrial, computer driven world of information technology that “cannibalizes jobs, creates a superclass of people who are the builders of the builders of these machines” and displaces millions of workers in the process.

Her new economy means that progress is, in some cases, increasing unemployment faster than it can grow jobs.

Articles in such magazines as “The Nation” and “Yes!” say the new economy means more locally owned businesses, driven by ecological awareness.

Who’s right?

All of them, says WSU economics professor Doris Geide-Stevenson.

To read more, click here for the entire article in the Standard Examiner.