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  • 2021
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  • Economic Analysis and Infrastructure Investment

Digital Infrastructure

By: Shane Greenstein
  • Format:Print
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Abstract

What determines the supply of innovative digital infrastructure and how does variance in supply shape the performance of digital services? The essay reviews research into the economic impact of deployment, innovation, and adoption of digital infrastructure. It distinguishes between household and business use of access, and describes how and where improvement to digital infrastructure benefits both suppliers and users. Despite its importance for economic performance, digital infrastructure operates at a distinctive and evolving boundary between public and private, which frames many research questions. The essay focuses on the experience in the United States and it covers the global experience when possible, stressing policy-relevant research questions. A large number of unanswered questions can benefit from economic analysis.

Keywords

Information Technology; Infrastructure; Economics; Policy; Research; Analysis; United States

Citation

Greenstein, Shane. "Digital Infrastructure." In Economic Analysis and Infrastructure Investment, edited by Edward L. Glaeser and James Poterba. National Bureau of Economic Research, and University of Chicago Press, 2021.
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About The Author

Shane M. Greenstein

Technology and Operations Management
→More Publications

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