IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/14758.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Broadband Bonus: Accounting for Broadband Internet's Impact on U.S. GDP

Author

Listed:
  • Shane Greenstein
  • Ryan C. McDevitt

Abstract

How much economic value did the diffusion of broadband create? We provide benchmark estimates for 1999 to 2006. We observe $39 billion of total revenue in Internet access in 2006, with broadband accounting for $28 billion of this total. Depending on the estimate, households generated $20 to $22 billion of the broadband revenue. Approximately $8.3 to $10.6 billion was additional revenue created between 1999 and 2006. That replacement is associated with $4.8 to $6.7 billion in consumer surplus, which is not measured via Gross Domestic Product (GDP). An Internet-access Consumer Price Index (CPI) would have to decline by 1.6% to 2.2% per year for it to reflect the creation of value. These estimates both differ substantially from those typically quoted in Washington policy discussions, and they shed light on several broadband policy issues, such as why relying on private investment worked to diffuse broadband in many US urban locations at the start of the millennium.

Suggested Citation

  • Shane Greenstein & Ryan C. McDevitt, 2009. "The Broadband Bonus: Accounting for Broadband Internet's Impact on U.S. GDP," NBER Working Papers 14758, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14758
    Note: IO PR
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w14758.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paul A. David, 1969. "Transport Innovation and Economic Growth: Professor Fogel on and off the Rails," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 22(3), pages 506-525, December.
    2. Flamm, Kenneth & Chaudhuri, Anindya, 0. "An analysis of the determinants of broadband access," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(6-7), pages 312-326, July.
    3. Pereira, Pedro & Ribeiro, Tiago, 2011. "The impact on broadband access to the Internet of the dual ownership of telephone and cable networks," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 283-293, March.
    4. Savage Scott J. & Waldman Donald M., 2004. "United States Demand for Internet Access," Review of Network Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 3(3), pages 1-20, September.
    5. Yongmin Chen & Scott J Savage, 2011. "The Effects of Competition on the Price for Cable Modem Internet Access," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(1), pages 201-217, February.
    6. Avi Goldfarb, 2004. "Concentration in advertising-supported online markets: an empirical approach," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(6), pages 581-594.
    7. Griliches, Zvi & Cockburn, Iain, 1994. "Generics and New Goods in Pharmaceutical Price Indexes," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(5), pages 1213-1232, December.
    8. Mélisande Cardona & Anton Schwarz & B. Yurtoglu & Christine Zulehner, 2009. "Demand estimation and market definition for broadband Internet services," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 70-95, February.
    9. repec:bpj:rneart:v:3:y:2004:i:3:p:228-247 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Downes, Tom & Greenstein, Shane, 2002. "Universal access and local internet markets in the US," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 1035-1052, September.
    11. Jerry A. Hausman, 1997. "Valuing the Effect of Regulation on New Services in Telecommunications," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 28(1997 Micr), pages 1-54.
    12. Braithwait, Steven D, 1980. "The Substitution Bias of the Laspeyres Price Index: An Analysis Using Estimated Cost-of-Living Indexes," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 70(1), pages 64-77, March.
    13. Hong, Seung-Hyun, 2007. "The recent growth of the internet and changes in household-level demand for entertainment," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 19(3-4), pages 304-318, October.
    14. Marshall Reinsdorf, 1993. "The Effect of Outlet Price Differentials on the US Consumer Price Index," NBER Chapters, in: Price Measurements and Their Uses, pages 227-258, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dutz Mark A. & Orszag Jonathan M. & Willig Robert D., 2012. "The Liftoff of Consumer Benefits from the Broadband Revolution," Review of Network Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 11(4), pages 1-34, December.
    2. Jinsoo Bae & Yun Jeong Choi & Jong-Hee Hahn, 2014. "Fixed and mobile broadband; Are they substitutes or complements?," Working papers 2014rwp-68, Yonsei University, Yonsei Economics Research Institute.
    3. Juan Daniel Oviedo & Julian Hidalgo, 2014. "The impact of broadband quality standards on Internet services market structure In colombia," Documentos de Trabajo 12232, Universidad del Rosario.
    4. Srinuan, Pratompong & Srinuan, Chalita & Bohlin, Erik, 2012. "Fixed and mobile broadband substitution in Sweden," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 237-251.
    5. Marshall Reinsdorf & Jack E. Triplett, 2009. "A Review of Reviews: Ninety Years of Professional Thinking About the Consumer Price Index," NBER Chapters, in: Price Index Concepts and Measurement, pages 17-83, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Hidalgo, Julian & Oviedo, Juan D., 2014. "The impact of Broadband quality standards on Internet services market structure in Colombia," 25th European Regional ITS Conference, Brussels 2014 101435, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    7. Trevor Roycroft, 2013. "Empirical study of broadband adoption using data from the 2009 Residential Energy Consumption Survey," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 214-228, April.
    8. Silva, Rita Filipe & Proença, Isabel & Vareda, João, 2013. "Dynamics of broadbands demand: Substitution or complementarity between fixed and mobile technologies? An application to the Portuguese case," 24th European Regional ITS Conference, Florence 2013 88541, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    9. Greenstein, Shane, 2010. "Innovative Conduct in Computing and Internet Markets," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 477-537, Elsevier.
    10. Srinuan, Chalita & Bohlin, Erik, 2013. "Analysis of fixed broadband access and use in Thailand: Drivers and barriers," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 615-625.
    11. Lindlacher, Valentin, 2021. "Low demand despite broad supply: Is high-speed Internet an infrastructure of general interest?," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    12. Mélisande Cardona & Anton Schwarz & B. Yurtoglu & Christine Zulehner, 2009. "Demand estimation and market definition for broadband Internet services," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 70-95, February.
    13. Robert J. Gordon, 2000. "The Boskin Commission Report and its Aftermath," NBER Working Papers 7759, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Goolsbee Austan, 2006. "The Value of Broadband and the Deadweight Loss of Taxing New Technology," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 1-31, April.
    15. Avi Goldfarb & Shane M. Greenstein & Catherine E. Tucker, 2015. "Introduction to "Economic Analysis of the Digital Economy"," NBER Chapters, in: Economic Analysis of the Digital Economy, pages 1-17, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Carare, Octavian & McGovern, Chris & Noriega, Raquel & Schwarz, Jay, 2015. "The willingness to pay for broadband of non-adopters in the U.S.: Estimates from a multi-state survey," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 19-35.
    17. Grzybowski, Lukasz & Nitsche, Rainer & Verboven, Frank & Wiethaus, Lars, 2014. "Market definition for broadband internet in Slovakia – Are fixed and mobile technologies in the same market?," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 39-56.
    18. Greenstein, Shane & McDevitt, Ryan, 2011. "Evidence of a modest price decline in US broadband services," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 200-211, June.
    19. Nakamura, Akihiro, 2015. "Mobile and fixed broadband access services substitution in Japan considering new broadband features," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 140-154.
    20. Jitendra Parajuli & Kingsley E. Haynes, 2017. "Broadband and narrowband Internet in Nepal," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 85-97, April.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L86 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Information and Internet Services; Computer Software
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14758. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nberrus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.