This refers to those sectors of the economy which produce stuff that weigh lighter than other sectors that manufacture traditional goods and services. The term is used to emphasise the changing nature of economies as they increasingly concentrate on producing stuff that is intangible but also of much more valuable to consumers. Economic growth in the previous centuries depended largely on increasing the total quantity of physical inputs that went into production. Now, producing things of higher value requires the use of intellectual capital more than physical capital, which explains the rapid increase in the size of the weightless economy.
