What term describes an economic phase in which manufacturing no longer plays a dominant role?

• A. Postindustrial Economy
• B. Service Economy
• C. Agrarian Economy
• D. Digital Economy

Answer: (A)

A shift from manufacturing to services marks this phase, where the economy moves away from manufacturing being the dominant driver and toward services, information, and knowledge-based activities. In many advanced economies, factories no longer employ or generate as much of the wealth as services like finance, health care, education, and professional services, which become the main growth engines. The term that best captures this broader transition is the postindustrial economy. While a service economy emphasizes a large service sector, it doesn’t explicitly describe the relative decline of manufacturing; a agrarian economy centers on agriculture, and a digital economy focuses on digital technologies—both are parts of modern economies but don’t specify the manufacturing decline as clearly as postindustrial does.