On an almost daily basis, we hear of technological breakthroughs ranging from artificial intelligence and 3D printing, to self-driving vehicles. We are entering a world of “digital manufacturing” and “the fourth industrial revolution”. It is a pleasure, therefore, to present The Next Production Revolution: Implications for Governments and Business, an in-depth OECD assessment of the medium-term economic and policy implications of new and emerging production technologies.

At the start of 2015 the OECD began work on a two-year project entitled Enabling the Next Production Revolution. The work set out to better understand the economic and policy implications of a set of technologies that are likely to significantly affect production over the medium term.

The next production revolution will occur because of a confluence of technologies. These range from a variety of digital technologies (e.g. 3D printing, the Internet of Things, advanced robotics) and new materials (e.g. bio- or nano-based) to new processes (e.g. data-driven production, artificial intelligence, synthetic biology). This report examines the economic and policy ramifications of a set of technologies likely to be important for production over the near term (to around 2030). As these technologies transform production, they will have far-reaching consequences for productivity, employment, skills, income distribution, trade, well-being and the environment.

This chapter contextualises the overall report and distils the main findings and policy ideas set out in the chapters on digital technologies, industrial biotechnology, nanotechnology, 3D printing and new materials. Also summarised and commented on are the main messages from the chapters addressing the following cross-cutting themes: institutions for technology diffusion, public acceptance and emerging production technologies, using foresight processes, emerging manufacturing research and development (R&D) priorities and policies, advanced manufacturing institutes in the United States, and how the next production revolution is unfolding in the People’s Republic of China. This introductory chapter also describes a number of additional policy considerations and provides a wider substantive background to the study, in particular by examining the following: the relationship between productivity and the technologies of the next production revolution; work, automation and new production technologies; policies for science and R&D; challenges for education and training; selected labour market developments; geography-specific policies; emerging challenges for intellectual property systems; the need for long-term policy thinking; and possible implications for global value chains. This chapter also points to themes which require further assessment.