Abstract
Commercial computing has grown to include an extraordinary range of economic undertakings. In any given era, computing markets are organized around platforms – a cluster of technically standardized components that buyers use together to make the wide range of applications. There has been an increasing secular trend in the number of firms that possess the necessary technical knowledge and commercial capabilities to bring to market some component or service. While general improvements in technical capabilities are readily apparent, it is quite difficult to calculate the productivity improvements arising from increased investment in and use of computing.
This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition, 2008. Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume
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Greenstein, S. (2008). Computer Industry. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2106-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2106-1
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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