Revolutionary effects of new information technologies

Arbeitspapier

In markets with imperfect information and heterogeneity, the information technology affects the rate at which agents meet, which in turn affects the distribution of production technologies across firms. We show that in models for such markets there are typically multiple equilibria because reservation utility levels and the lowest production technology in use affect each other. The adoption of novel information technologies may then entail a revolution in the sense of a move from an inefficient to an efficient equilibrium. Inefficient production technologies are removed even in sectors where the new information technology has only recently been introduced. The effect is much larger than a marginal comparative-statics effect on a given equilibrium. The results apply to markets for consumer products, labor, intermediate goods, and (public) institutional services,

Angaben zum Objekt

• Sprache: Englisch

Verweise und Beziehungen

• Erschienen in: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 1655

Klassifikation und Themen

• Klassifikation: Wirtschaft ; Market Structure, Pricing, and Design: Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection ; Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness ; Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms ; Information and Product Quality; Standardization and Compatibility ; Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes ; Monopsony; Segmented Labor Markets ; Information and Internet Services; Computer Software
• Thema: imperfect information ; heterogeneity ; production technology ; informational frictions ; Informationstechnik ; Unvollkommene Information ; Fertigungstechnik ; Preiswettbewerb ; Agency Theory ; Informationstechnik ; Unvollkommene Information ; Fertigungstechnik ; Preiswettbewerb ; Agency Theory

Beteiligte, Orts- und Zeitangaben

• Ereignis: Geistige Schöpfung
• (wer): van den Berg, Gerard J.
• Ereignis: Veröffentlichung
• (wer): Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
• (wo): Bonn
• (wann): 2005

Weitere Informationen

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/33567
• Letzte Aktualisierung: 20.09.2024, 08:24 MESZ