Description
The Economics of Information Technology is a concise and accessible review of some of the 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. These factors combine to produce some unique behavior. The book consists of two parts. In the first part, Professor Varian outlines the basic economics of these industries. In the second part, Professors Farrell and Shapiro describe the impact of these factors on competition policy. The clarity of the analysis and exposition makes this an ideal introduction for undergraduate and graduate students in economics, business strategy, law and related areas.
Table of Contents
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.
