old economyn.adj.
/ˌəʊld ᵻˈkɒnəmi/, U.S. /ˌoʊld iˈkɑnəmi/, /ˌoʊld əˈkɑnəmi/ A. n.
1. A former economy (in various senses); esp. a state or system of political, social, or fiscal management or administration regarded as superseded, outmoded, or belonging to the past.
ΚΠ
1662 J. Barbon Λειτουργία Θειοτέρα Ἐργία 26 Remember, all things are not (no, nor were, under the Old Oeconomie) under particular præscription.
1844 Biblical Repertory Oct. 555 Any thing permitted under the old economy..cannot be a crime justifying exclusion from Christian communion.
1853 Putnam's Monthly Mag. May 562 The transition..in which an old economy passed away in flames, and a new one sprang from its ashes.
1895 Jrnl. Polit. Econ. 3 501 Efforts to sustain the old economy..led to the stringent measures which are the origin of the labor laws.
1936 Internat. Affairs 15 866 The last war broke up the old economy.
1996 R. Marshall in T. Schafer & J. Faux Reclaiming Prosperity vi. 105 The policies that supported the old economy have lost their effectiveness, and human capital must be the centerpiece for economic success in the new economy.
2. spec. The economy as it relates to established manufacturing industries, agriculture, etc., as opposed to high-technology industries such as telecommunications, computers, internet commerce, etc.; these industries as a sector of the economy. Cf. earlier new economy n.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > management of national resources > [noun] > political economy > specific sector of the economy
rural economics1764
supply side1873
agriculturism1885
business sector1918
black economy1929
hidden economy1930
underground economy1978
old economy1983
1983 Time (Nexis) 30 May 68/2 (heading) At the two ends of the Sunbelt last week, conventions of both the New Economy and the Old Economy took place. In Anaheim, Calif.,..the National Computer Conference. At the same time in Dallas,..the United Auto Workers meeting.
1992 Financial Post (Canada) (Nexis) 22 May 56 The foundation of that index is 37 mining stocks, 18 forest products stocks and 40 oil stocks–nearly 100 stocks from the old economy. By contrast, there are only..15 falling under the general heading of technology.
2000 Daily Tel. 17 Mar. 33/4 The old economy is not dead and it hasn't been sleeping.
B. adj.
Of or relating to established manufacturing industries, agriculture, etc., as opposed to high-technology industries. Now: esp. of or relating to the economy as it was before the advent of commerce on the internet; of or relating to a company that engages in little or no online commerce.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > [adjective] > types of industry generally
heavy1888
light industrial1919
sheltered1924
military-industrial1925
Tayacian1934
footloose1939
linked1942
low technology1956
high technology1964
smokestack1976
old economy1990
1990 Inc. Mar. 52/3 This new breed is settling in neighborhoods somewhat different from the haunts of their old-economy ancestors.
1993 Harvard Business Rev. Jan. 26 Take the example of what is perhaps the archetypal ‘old-economy’ product: steel.
1999 Time 27 Dec. 96/1 It sounds tediously old economy..but..it's tough to beat the plain old walk-in store. ‘We're still a nation of tire kickers.’
2000 Times 5 Sept. 26/4 The shares have bounced from a low of 485½p in February after falling from £10 last year amid the sell-off of old-economy stocks.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1662