For anyone examining the rise of the commercial internet, the story of the mid-1990s is inseparable from the invisible infrastructure that made it possible: the backbone. In 1995, the phrase “internet backbone” had a technical ring, more familiar to engineers than to the general public, but its impact was about to reshape economies. The work […]
The mid-1990s were a time of real uncertainty—and ambition—in the North American power sector. Deregulation was no longer a distant policy proposal. It was, in many states and provinces, an unfolding reality. For economists and policymakers, tracking the earliest effects of these reforms meant turning to whatever consistent datasets were available. ISIC 3510—electric power generation, […]
Charting the development of biotechnology in the mid-1990s is, for any analyst or policymaker, a challenge defined as much by the boundaries of data as by the field’s scientific frontiers. By 1994, biotech had already proven itself as more than a passing trend, yet the industry’s true contours remained elusive. ISIC 7210—research and development on […]
The early 1990s occupy a strange place in the memory of the software industry—especially for those who tracked the fortunes of multimedia. In 1993, the phrase “interactive CD-ROM” was a badge of innovation, still a few years from being supplanted by the web, but already everywhere on the lips of educators, publishers, and software developers. […]
The story of electricity reform in Latin America is, in some ways, a chronicle of ambition. In 1993, both Chile and Argentina stood as early experimenters with privatization in the power sector—steps that would later ripple across the continent. For those seeking to measure the real consequences of these reforms, ISIC 3510—electric power generation, transmission, […]
The early 1990s were formative years for the geographic information systems (GIS) industry. In 1992, GIS was at once established in certain research circles and still novel as a commercial proposition. For policymakers and analysts hoping to trace the sector’s evolution, ISIC 6201—computer programming activities—offers a place to start, but, as always, not the full […]
The years immediately following German reunification were defined by transformation on almost every front, and nowhere was this more evident than in the country’s power sector. The challenge, for anyone seeking to document the structural changes, lies in teasing out the interplay of old and new: East and West, public and private, legacy and integration. […]
The dawn of the commercial internet is, by necessity, a story built from fragments. In 1991, the notion of paying a private company for internet access was still novel, and the language to describe this new service was far from settled. Yet, even then, signs of what would become a global industry were emerging. For […]
To speak of wind power in Denmark in 1991 is, in a sense, to revisit the roots of a global shift. At the time, wind energy was still seen by many as a peripheral experiment—innovative, yes, but not yet central to national or regional energy strategies. And yet, for those reading between the lines, the […]
Desktop publishing in 1990 was both a technological revolution and an economic puzzle. For policymakers, economists, and industry watchers, measuring its growth means trying to chart the intersection of software innovation, hardware adoption, and the rapidly shifting landscape of small-scale publishing. ISIC 6201—computer programming activities—serves as the main statistical anchor, but, as usual, its breadth […]
California’s geothermal sector in 1990 stood at an inflection point—benefiting from decades of public investment, shifting regulatory landscapes, and the persistent optimism that clean energy could, and would, scale. For analysts or policymakers looking back, tracking the growth of this sector means marrying technical data with business realities. ISIC 3510—electric power generation, transmission, and distribution—serves […]
In 1989, commercial fax services sat at the crossroads of old and new modes of business communication. Before email became ubiquitous and well before broadband rendered paper transmission quaint, fax firms bridged a gap—delivering near-instant document transmission for industries that needed speed but didn’t yet trust (or have access to) digital alternatives. Tracking this sector […]
In 1989, cancer research occupied a growing space at the intersection of science, public health, and policy. Yet, for anyone aiming to map the contours of this work using economic statistics, the boundaries are, unsurprisingly, less than crisp. ISIC 7210—research and development on natural sciences and engineering—offers a statistical anchor, but its net is cast […]
By 1988, the personal computer industry was rapidly shaking off its experimental image and entering mainstream business and household life. For economists or policymakers hoping to quantify the surge in PC manufacturing, ISIC 2910—Manufacture of machinery and equipment not elsewhere classified—serves as a necessary, if blunt, starting point. The code covers an expansive terrain, including […]
In 1988, the world of renewable energy still occupied a niche space in policy and investment circles, but the seeds of today’s biomass power sector were already being sown in a handful of pioneering pilot projects. Tracking the emergence of these efforts, especially within the statistical confines of ISIC 3510—electric power generation, transmission, and distribution—requires […]
For those interested in the mechanics of technological leaps, 1987 stands out as a pivotal year for the semiconductor industry. The so-called “semiconductor boom” wasn’t merely a matter of rising demand for chips; it was the result of massive capital investment, new manufacturing processes, and a reshuffling of the competitive landscape. Yet, for economists and […]