As one of the first books to distill the economics of information and networks into practical business strategies, this is a guide to the winning moves that can help business leaders--from writers, lawyers and finance professional to executives in the entertainment, publishing and hardware and software industries-- navigate successfully through the information economy.

With over 80 indicators based on the most up-to-date official statistics, this study provides a comprehensive international comparison of OECD Member countries' performance in the information economy.

This book determines the basic characteristics of an information economy and studies the main stages of information economy development. It offers a fresh perspective on the concept of modern information economy while providing a new theoretical model that supports the development of a well-balanced information economy.

Extensively revised and expanded with the most up-to-the-minute data, this new edition of the Field Guide to the U.S. Economy brings key economic issues to life, reflecting the collective wit and wisdom of the many progressive economists affiliated with the Center for Popular Economics. User-friendly and accessible, the book covers a wide range of subjects, including workers, women, people of color, government spending, welfare, education, health, the environment, macroeconomics, and the global economy, as well as brand-new material on the war in Iraq, the Department of Homeland Security, the prison-industrial complex, foreign aid, the environment, and pharmaceutical companies. This new edition includes cartoons on every page, along with a glossary and analytical tool kit to help readers along the way.

Explores the confluence of two events -- large economies in the world being dominated by services and a change from a material or physical economy to an information economy -- by examining the double dichotomy of products versus services and information versus material, which divides the economy into four supersectors.

The American economy has provided a level of well-being that has consistently ranked at or near the top of the international ladder. A key source of this success has been widespread participation in political and economic processes. In The Government and the American Economy, leading economic historians chronicle the significance of America’s open-access society and the roles played by government in its unrivaled success story. America’s democratic experiment, the authors show, allowed individuals and interest groups to shape the structure and policies of government, which, in turn, have fostered economic success and innovation by emphasizing private property rights, the rule of law, and protections of individual freedom. In response to new demands for infrastructure, America’s federal structure hastened development by promoting the primacy of states, cities, and national governments. More recently, the economic reach of American government expanded dramatically as the populace accepted stronger limits on its economic freedoms in exchange for the increased security provided by regulation, an expanded welfare state, and a stronger national defense.

This volume considers the impact of technological innovation on the foundations of consumer advocacy, contracting behaviour, control over intellectual capital and information privacy. A unique and timely perspective on these issues is presented by internationally renowned experts who provide novel approaches to the question of what consumer protection might consist of in the context of technological innovation.

Physics at the beginning of the twenty-first century has reached new levels of accomplishment and impact in a society and nation that are changing rapidly. Accomplishments have led us into the information age and fueled broad technological and economic development. The pace of discovery is quickening and stronger links with other fields such as the biological sciences are being developed. The intellectual reach has never been greater, and the questions being asked are more ambitious than ever before. Physics in a New Era is the final report of the NRC's six-volume decadal physics survey. The book reviews the frontiers of physics research, examines the role of physics in our society, and makes recommendations designed to strengthen physics and its ability to serve important needs such as national security, the economy, information technology, and education.

We are living through a transition from the industrial age to the information age. The parts of our economy related most closely to information and digital content may have been the first to feel the shift, but they will not be the last. The formative stories of the information age - the Internet investment bubble, the Microsoft trial, the advent of Open Source, and the P2P wars - present a pattern that we are likely to see time and again. Understanding that pattern, however, involves disentangling the various strands of technology, economics, and law. A basic grounding in these three areas reveals a simple pattern. Technology creates new opportunities for consumers, or end users. They reap an immediate benefit. Clever businesses or providers devise new business models to avail themselves of the new technology. They benefit too. But amidst all those benefits, someone also loses - often large, powerful incumbents whose expectations the new technologies dashed. Incumbents fight back using the only weapons remaining, typically the law. They push for legal solutions that attempt to restore the transaction costs that information technology eroded. And there you have the battles over our transition from industrial age to information age in a nutshell. Many readers will immediately recognize this pattern as the framework of the Microsoft vs. Open Source and the Entertainment Giants vs. P2P battles. But it shows up in many places, both large and small, that not everyone sees as part of the same trend. The reason that we can configure cars on line but not buy them directly from the manufacturer is that incumbent middlemen dealers (who often carry substantial local clout) avail themselves of laws prohibiting direct sales from auto makers to drivers. In a more controversial vein, white collar (and pink collar) job offshoring is part of the same pattern. Reduced information costs allow companies to offshore numerous tasks, benefiting both the clever companies themselves and their customers, who share the fruits of lower costs. But it disintermediates the incumbents who provide labor that is no longer cost-effective. The incumbents immediate reaction is to fight back by using the law to impede trade. Digital Phoenix traces these ideas from their roots in computer science and artificial intelligence, industrial organization and network economics, and intellectual property and antitrust law, through the information economy's formative tales, and into their future across broad swathes of politics and society. It also provides some prescriptions. The first challenge is to see the unfolding pattern for what it is. The second is to recognize that, in the long run, technology will always trump law. The third is to face reality: it takes a while to get to the long run, and incumbents will fight to make the transition as long and as painful as possible. The fourth is to find ways to alleviate enough of the incumbents' own pain to reduce their resistance. So if you ever find yourself wondering what Apple's iTunes has in common with the adjustment assistance of trade law, there's your answer - they're both palliatives for incumbents designed to smooth our transition to the information age.

`This book provides an extremely well written and informative introduction to the subject of media economics, characterized by clarity in the explanation of concepts or frameworks and by a balanced discussion for the respective positions in areas of debate' - Paul MacDonald, Roehampton Institute Understanding Media Economics provides a clear, precise introduction to the key economic concepts and issues affecting the media. The book: explains the fundamental concepts relevant to the study of media economics; considers the key industrial questions facing the media industries today; relates economic theory to business practice; covers a wide range of media activity - advertising, television, film, print media, and new media; and looks at the impact of economics on public policy. Understanding Media Economics offers a stimulating perspective on the contemporary media environment. This book will be an essential purchase for all students of the media and mass communication.