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“Free” Internet Content: Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and the Sources of Economic Growth

Author

Listed:
  • Leonard I. Nakamura
  • Jon Samuels
  • Rachel Soloveichik

Abstract

The Internet has evolved from Web 1.0, with static web pages and limited interactivity, to Web 2.0, with dynamic content that relies on user engagement. This change increased production costs significantly, but the price charged for Internet content has generally remained the same: zero. Because no transaction records the ?purchase? of this content, its value is not reflected in measured growth and productivity. To capture the contribution of the ?free? Internet, we model the provision of ?free? content as a barter transaction between the content users and the content creators, and we value this transaction at production cost. When we incorporate this implicit transaction into U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), productivity, and household accounts, we find that including ?free? content raises estimates of growth, but not nearly enough to reverse the recent slowdown.

Suggested Citation

  • Leonard I. Nakamura & Jon Samuels & Rachel Soloveichik, 2018. "“Free” Internet Content: Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and the Sources of Economic Growth," Working Papers 18-17, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedpwp:18-17
    DOI: 10.21799/frbp.wp.2018.17
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    Cited by:

    1. Bart Los & Marcel P. Timmer, 2020. "Measuring Bilateral Exports of Value Added: A Unified Framework," NBER Chapters, in: Challenges of Globalization in the Measurement of National Accounts, pages 389-421, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. David Byrne & Carol Corrado, 2020. "Accounting for Innovations in Consumer Digital Services: IT Still Matters," NBER Chapters, in: Measuring and Accounting for Innovation in the Twenty-First Century, pages 471-517, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Internet; productivity; advertising; marketing; measurement; GDP;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C82 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Macroeconomic Data; Data Access
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce
    • L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media
    • M3 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights
    • O4 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity

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