Industrial organization of high technology markets. The internet and information technologies

摘要

Readers familiar with the economic literature on innxovation and technological change will be disappointed if they search Industrial Organization of High Technology Markets for a definition of high technology along the lines proposed by the Frascati Manual (OECD, 2002). The authors use a different definition in relating high technology markets to the 'main economic aspects related to Information and Communication Technologies'. Do not get me wrong, the contribution of the book is still valuable: there have been few good books on this subject since the path-breaking Information Rules (Shapiro and Varian, 1999). Shy (2001) and Belleflamme and Peitz (2010) are honourable exceptions. Standard economic texts have examined (in later versions) the impact of these high technology markets on industrial organization (Tirole, 1990) or business economics (Varian, 1990). What encourages the reader to use this book is that it introduces different key concepts in the area of network economics. These are generally not discussed in the traditional literature and include such concepts as the pace of innovation and technological change, and role of government intervention (anti-trust and regulation) in facilitating progress in network industries. A key issue not addressed in the book is how radical innovations which have come from other sectors are developing in these industries.