Greenspan lauds tech boom
Fed chief says technology brings more jobs, better life even in rural areas
April 27, 2000: 2:19 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) - The technological boom that is transforming the nation's cities is also providing greater job opportunities and a better life in rural areas, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Thursday.
Greenspan said that just as electricity and better highways transformed rural America in the last century, the technological revolution involving computers and the Internet is certain to have an impact in the new century.
"Rural citizens are gaining access to a broader range of goods and services and the already existing goods and services are available more expeditiously and at lower cost," Greenspan said in remarks to a conference on rural America sponsored by the Federal Reserve regional bank in Kansas City. Among the innovations, Greenspan noted satellite television and other electronic products that "have helped to counter the remoteness of many rural places." He said rural areas also stand to benefit from innovations just now being developed such as telemedicine, which allow urban doctors to diagnose illnesses in rural areas through television and computer hookups. Greenspan predicted that farmers would also benefit from the revolution under way in information technology.
"Crop producers are turning to innovations such as electronic technologies, including those linked to satellites, to attain greater precision in planting, irrigation, fertilization and weed-control," he said in his prepared speech, copies of which were released in Washington.
"Genetic discoveries that should raise productive potential for both crops and livestock are being reported with greater frequency," he said, noting that many of the changes are likely to increase farm productivity, which would mean further declines in the number of farms as the size of those farms continues to increase. But helping to offset this loss of employment opportunities, Greenspan predicted, the expansion of agriculture service industries should continue to be a source of employment growth in rural areas.
"Like all the previous episodes of technical advance, the revolution in information technology already has improved living conditions in numerous ways, and it will likely bring future benefits to rural communities that we now can only scarcely imagine," he said.
Greenspan spoke after the release of new government economic statistics showing that the overall economy surged at a 5.3 percent growth rate in the first three months of this year, far above the Federal Reserve's "speed limit" of around 3.5 percent.
Most analysts believe the Fed, which already has raised interest rates five times since June, will boost rates again May 16. Greenspan, however, made no reference to current economic conditions in his prepared text.
Copyright 2000 Associated Press All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Fed chief says technology brings more jobs, better life even in rural areas
April 27, 2000: 2:19 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) - The technological boom that is transforming the nation's cities is also providing greater job opportunities and a better life in rural areas, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Thursday.
Greenspan said that just as electricity and better highways transformed rural America in the last century, the technological revolution involving computers and the Internet is certain to have an impact in the new century.
"Rural citizens are gaining access to a broader range of goods and services and the already existing goods and services are available more expeditiously and at lower cost," Greenspan said in remarks to a conference on rural America sponsored by the Federal Reserve regional bank in Kansas City. Among the innovations, Greenspan noted satellite television and other electronic products that "have helped to counter the remoteness of many rural places." He said rural areas also stand to benefit from innovations just now being developed such as telemedicine, which allow urban doctors to diagnose illnesses in rural areas through television and computer hookups. Greenspan predicted that farmers would also benefit from the revolution under way in information technology.
"Crop producers are turning to innovations such as electronic technologies, including those linked to satellites, to attain greater precision in planting, irrigation, fertilization and weed-control," he said in his prepared speech, copies of which were released in Washington.
"Genetic discoveries that should raise productive potential for both crops and livestock are being reported with greater frequency," he said, noting that many of the changes are likely to increase farm productivity, which would mean further declines in the number of farms as the size of those farms continues to increase. But helping to offset this loss of employment opportunities, Greenspan predicted, the expansion of agriculture service industries should continue to be a source of employment growth in rural areas.
"Like all the previous episodes of technical advance, the revolution in information technology already has improved living conditions in numerous ways, and it will likely bring future benefits to rural communities that we now can only scarcely imagine," he said.
Greenspan spoke after the release of new government economic statistics showing that the overall economy surged at a 5.3 percent growth rate in the first three months of this year, far above the Federal Reserve's "speed limit" of around 3.5 percent.
Most analysts believe the Fed, which already has raised interest rates five times since June, will boost rates again May 16. Greenspan, however, made no reference to current economic conditions in his prepared text.
Copyright 2000 Associated Press All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
