Handbook on the Economics of the Internet

Edited by Johannes M. Bauer, Michigan State University, US and Michael Latzer, University of Zurich, Switzerland

As the single most important general purpose technology of recent times, the Internet is transforming the organization, competitive structure and business models of the private, the public and non-profit sectors. In 27 original chapters, leading authors discuss theoretical and applied frameworks for the study of the economics of the Internet and its unique economics as a global information and communications infrastructure. They also examine the effects of the Internet on economic transactions (including social production, advertising, innovation, and intellectual property rights), the economics and management of Internet-based industries (including search, news, entertainment, culture, and virtual worlds), and the effects of the Internet on the economy at large.

‘The Handbook provides an outstanding insight on understanding all kinds of businesses carrying over the information super-highway called the Internet. . . . The book brings together much-admired pieces of literature to understand the dynamics of the Internet economy. The book will also help the emerging nations in streamlining their e-business policies and business communication strategies for their micro, small, and medium enterprises. This book is recommended to scholars and practitioners engaged in research on economic processes of global Internet-enabled businesses.’
——科学与公共政策

‘Internet development dynamics are tackled in this Handbook by leading scholars representing mainstream, institutional, evolutionary economics, and political economy perspectives. They show how complex markets for digital technologies and services are evolving. Crucially, they demonstrate why conventional analytical tool kits need to be extended by bridging disciplinary boundaries. This volume offers significant advances in the analysis of technological and institutional change and demonstrates how important it is to acknowledge conflict resolution and tradeoffs as essential aspects of the Internet’s history and its future.’
– Robin Mansell, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK

'The Internet has transformed many fundamental economic facts of life and business, but it is challenging to catalog them all. This topic deserves a comprehensive handbook, and the editors have delivered. The chapters are engaging and lucid, and cover a wide range of topics. The editors were not shy about spanning boundaries between technical detail, economic analysis, and policy relevance. This is a great resource for any modern scholar of the Internet.'
– Shane Greenstein, Harvard Business School, US

‘This Handbook has the laudable aim of providing an original map of research in the Internet Economics field. It succeeds in this thanks to the editors’ inclusion of theoretical perspectives ranging from the mainstream to institutional and evolutionary economic theory, complex adaptive systems theory, and critical political economy. . . Readers will gain insight into the limitations of the questions that are asked within different economic traditions, but importantly, also into what can be revealed by these theories and empirical methods. Media and communication scholars, not just those with an interest in media economics, will come away from engagement with this handbook with a good understanding of the assumptions underpinning the contributions economists are making to contemporary debate about the consequences of the continuous evolution of digitally mediated markets.’
– European Journal of Communication