The Evolution of Advanced Large Scale Information Infrastructure in the United States

Shane M. Greenstein, Mercedes M. Lizardo, Pablo T. Spiller

NBER Working Paper No. 5929
Issued in February 1997
NBER Program(s):   PR

Is private industry investing in backbone digital technology in a manner consistent with social policy? To address this question we assemble highly disaggregate data and compute indices for the geographic distribution of advanced backbone information technology in computing and telecommunications, focusing on recent changes in the indices. Our evidence suggests that the stock of advanced information technology capital, and access to it, became more equally distributed across the U.S. between the mid 1980s and early 1990s. In light of these findings there needs to be careful rethinking of the current policy concerns about the distribution of backbone technologies.

(2538 K)

Published: Shampine, Allan (ed.) Down to the Wire: Studies in the Diffusion and Regulation of Telecommunications Technologies. New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2003.

This paper is available as PDF (2538 K) or via email.

Machine-readable bibliographic record - MARC, RIS, BibTeX