““A GPT is seen as an epoch-defining technology which spreads through many industries, allowing costs to fall and, equivalently, productivity to increase. Bresnahan and Trajtenberg argue that a GPT is characterized by (1) pervasiveness – it spreads to most industries, (2) improvement – its performance is progressively improved over time, and (3) it is innovation spawning – it stimulates the invention of new products or processes. The most commonly discussed GPTs are the steam engine, electricity and computers; obviously, the steam engine is seen as defining Britain’s Industrial Revolution.””
