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A post-industrial economy refers to a period of growth within an industrialized economy or nation in which the relative importance of manufacturing lessens and that of services, information, and research grows.

Such economies are often marked by:

• A declining manufacturing sector, resulting in de-industrialization,
• A large service sector,
• An increase in the amount of information technology, often leading to an "information age". Information, knowledge, and creativity are the new raw materials of such an economy.

The industry aspect of a post-industrial economy is sent into less developed nations which manufacture what is needed at lower costs (see outsourcing). This occurrence is typical of nations that industrialized in the past such as the United States and most Western European countries.

[edit] See also

• Post-industrial society
• Outsourcing
• United States of America
• European Union