This paper examines the hypothesis that ICT penetration has positive effects on economic growth. On theoretical grounds, this paper discusses three channels through which ICT penetration can affect growth: (i) fostering technology diffusion and innovation; (ii) enhancing the quality of...

In Cournot's model of complements, the producers of A and B are both monopolists. This paper extends Cournot's model to allow for competition between complements on one side of the market. Consider two complements, A and B, where the A + B bundle is valuable only when purchased together. Good A...

The welfare gain to consumers from the introduction of personal computers is estimated here. A simple model of consumer demand is formulated that uses a slightly modified version of standard preferences. The modification permits marginal utility, and hence total utility, to be finite when the...

Studying the US personal computer industry from its inception in 1974 through 1994, we address the following questions. What product technology strategies increase the survival chances of entrants into new, technologically dynamic industries? Does the effectiveness of these strategies differ by...

Using a high frequency data-set of advertised prices in the personal computer industry, we find that firms which introduced Pentium computers late in the "buy Direct" segment of the market command a higher price premium compared to early entrants. This is true even among firms which have the...

Investigates whether having access to a personalcomputer influences an individual's decision to become an entrepreneur.According to the central hypothesis, access to a home computer is likely tofacilitate the launch of the entrepreneurial process. This hypothesis is evaluated in light of a novel...

The United States has charged Microsoft with tying its internet browser to its operating system (OS). This claim, of course, depends upon the government's assertion that Microsoft's browser and OS are separate products that can be tied together. Under current law, two items are deemed distinct...

Although computers are universal in the classroom, nearly twenty million children in the United States do not have computers in their homes. Surprisingly, only a few previous studies explore the role of home computers in the educational process. Home computers might be very useful for completing...

We study competitive interactions between Intel and Microsoft, two producers of complementary products. In a system of complements, like the PC, the value of the final product depends on how the different components work together. This, in turn, depends on the firms' investments in complementary...

The paper provides an analysis of the problems of construction of quality-adjusted price indexes within the framework of the theory of product differentiation. In the general case of price-making behaviour on the part of firms, hedonic regressions are defined on the basis of reduced forms of the...