Can we see the computer age in the productivity statistics?
It means that computers (or IT in general) contribute to the society (they make us better off and more productive at work), but this does not show up in GDP statistics. The reason is that many of these services are for free. As an example, the value of the Google Search is not reflected in a market price for running this search. The problem is related to the societal value of mothers raising their children at home. Other examples are environmental protection or caring for your parents. Since these services are not traded on markets, it does not enter GDP. Whether the Solow quote is actually true is however debatable. The value of the google search engine is to some extent reflected in the advertisement google is selling. And this enters GDP statistics. The relation with the productivity puzzle is whether productivity is actually falling or whether we need new concepts to measure productivity in the computer age.