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Journal of Economic Literature

ISSN 0022-0515 (Print) | ISSN 2328-8175 (Online)

Digital Economics

  • Avi Goldfarb
  • Catherine Tucker
Journal of Economic Literature
vol. 57, no. 1, March 2019
(pp. 3–43)
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Abstract

Digital technology is the representation of information in bits. This technology has reduced the cost of storage, computation, and transmission of data. Research on digital economics examines whether and how digital technology changes economic activity. In this review, we emphasize the reduction in five distinct economic costs associated with digital economic activity: search costs, replication costs, transportation costs, tracking costs, and verification costs.

Citation

Goldfarb, Avi, and Catherine Tucker. 2019. "Digital Economics." Journal of Economic Literature, 57 (1): 3–43. DOI: 10.1257/jel.20171452

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • D24 Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
  • D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
  • L86 Information and Internet Services; Computer Software
  • O33 Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
  • R41 Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise