text: it has a great impact.One important aspect of most of this prior\nresearch is that almost all of it is focused\nexclusively on the manufacturing sector. Very few\nof the earlier studies examined the impact of\ncomputers, and information technology goods in\ngeneral, on labour productivity in the non-\nmanufacturing sectors of the economy. This gap in\nthe productivity research has occurred primarily\nbecause output is more difficult to define and\nquantify in the service and trade sectors than it is\nin the manufacturing sector. Clearly, counting the\noutput of a steel mill or auto factory is one thing,\nbut it is much more difficult to measure the output\nof a bank or an insurance company.