The Economics of Information Technology: An Introduction

ISBN-13: 9780521844154 / Angielski / Twarda / 2004 / 116 str.

Hal R. Varian; Joseph Farrell; Carl Shapiro

Opis

The Economics of Information Technology is a concise and accessible review of important economic factors affecting information technology industries. These industries are characterized by high fixed costs and low marginal costs of production, large switching costs for users, and strong network effects. Hal Varian outlines the basic economics of these industries while Joseph Farrell and Carl Shapiro describe the impact of these factors on competition policy. The volume is an ideal introduction for undergraduate and graduate students in economics, business strategy, law and related areas.

Spis treści

List of figures; The Raffaele Mattioli lectures; Part I. Competition and Market Power: 1. Introduction; 2. Technology and market structure; 3. Intellectual property; 4. The Internet boom; 5. Differentiation of products and prices; 6. Switching costs and lock-in; 7. Supply-side economies of scale; 8. Demand-side economies of scale; 9. Standards; 10. Systems effects; 11. Computer mediated transactions; 12. Summary; Part II. Intellectual Property, Competition and Information Technology: 13. Introduction; 14. Patents, trade secrets and copyrights; 15. Differentiation of products and prices; 16. Switching costs and lock-in; 17. Standards and patents; 18. Do we need to reform the patent system?; 19. Summary and conclusions; Bibliography; Index of names; Index of subjects.