Rather than debate whether technical advances have created a "new economy,"
economists should focus on the more interesting and useful question: How d
o we create the sort of environment in which innovation and the productive
use of new technology thrive thereby creating economic prosperity? Such an
environment is the product of government laying the appropriate infrastruct
ure, manifested in the culture of the institutions it supports. This articl
e discusses the features governments must incorporate into their institutio
ns in order to build an economic infrastructure that promotes prosperity. (
JEL E52, E58, E65).