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Communications Equipment: What Has Happened to Prices?

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  • Mark Doms

Abstract

This paper examines the prices for communications equipment, an important component of information technology. Unlike prices for computers which officially fall sharply every year, the official prices for communications equipment have barely budged over the past decade. This paper combines earlier work on prices for several segments of communications equipment with new results for public exchanges, fiber optic equipment, and modems. The results suggest that prices for communications equipment fall much faster than official statistics would indicate, but not as fast as computers. The results presented in this paper, if incorporated into the NIPAs, would decrease MFP growth by about 0.1 percentage point per year and increase the contribution of capital deepening by a likewise amount. Also, GDP growth would be boosted marginally.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark Doms, 2003. "Communications Equipment: What Has Happened to Prices?," Working Paper Series 2003-15, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedfwp:2003-15
    DOI: 10.24148/wp2003-15
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    1. repec:ucp:bknber:9780226304557 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Dale W. Jorgenson & Kevin J. Stiroh, 2000. "Raising the Speed Limit: U.S. Economic Growth in the Information Age," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 31(1), pages 125-236.
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    Cited by:

    1. repec:dgr:rugggd:200368 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Elise A. Couper & John P. Hejkal & Alexander L. Wolman, 2003. "Boom and bust in telecommunications," Economic Quarterly, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, vol. 89(Fall), pages 1-24.
    3. Corrado Carol & Lengermann Paul & Beaulieu J. Joseph & Bartelsman Eric J., 2007. "Sectoral Productivity in the United States: Recent Developments and the Role of IT," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 8(2), pages 188-210, May.
    4. Roberto Fontana & Lorenzo Zirulia, 2015. "“…then came Cisco, and the rest is history”: a ‘history friendly’ model of the Local Area Networking industry," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 25(5), pages 875-899, November.
    5. Haskel, Jonathan & Edquist, Harald & Goodridge, Peter, 2019. "Productivity, Network Effects and Telecommunications Capital: Evidence from the US and Europe," CEPR Discussion Papers 13910, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    6. Dale W. Jorgenson & J. Steven Landefeld, 2006. "Blueprint for Expanded and Integrated US Accounts: Review, Assessment, and Next Steps," NBER Chapters, in: A New Architecture for the US National Accounts, pages 13-112, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. repec:bla:germec:v:8:y:2007:i::p:188-210 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Stephen D. Oliner & Daniel E. Sichel, 2005. "Les technologies de l’information et la productivité : situation actuelle et perspectives d’avenir," L'Actualité Economique, Société Canadienne de Science Economique, vol. 81(1), pages 339-400.
    9. Liao, Wen-Chi, 2010. "Outsourcing and computers: Impact on urban skill level and rent," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(2-3), pages 136-154, May.
    10. David M. Byrne & Brian K. Kovak & Ryan Michaels, 2013. "Price and quality dispersion in an offshoring market: evidence from semiconductor production services," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2013-06, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    11. Goodridge, PR & Haskel, J & Wallis, G, 2014. "The "C" in ICT: communications capital, spillovers and UK growth," Working Papers 18382, Imperial College, London, Imperial College Business School.
    12. R. Fontana & L. Zirulia, 2015. "then came Cisco, and the rest is history : a history friendly model of the Local Area Networking industry," Working Papers wp993, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    13. Goodridge, Peter & Haskel, Jonathan & Edquist, Harald, 2019. "The economic contribution of the “C” in ICT: Evidence from OECD countries," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 867-880.
    14. David M. Byrne & Carol Corrado, 2015. "Prices for Communications Equipment: Rewriting the Record," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2015-69, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    15. Stranger, Greg & Greenstein, Shane, 2008. "Pricing in the shadow of firm turnover: ISPs during the 1990s," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 625-642, May.
    16. Robert Inklaar & Mary O'Mahony & Marcel Timmer, 2005. "ICT AND EUROPE's PRODUCTIVITY PERFORMANCE: INDUSTRY‐LEVEL GROWTH ACCOUNT COMPARISONS WITH THE UNITED STATES," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 51(4), pages 505-536, December.

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