The Internet Was an Economic Disappointment
nytimes.com
nytimes.com
TL;DR there are too many factors to determine if the Internet has been an economic disappointment: change causes loss in productivity at the same time that technology is improving productivity; technology change results in job loss; wealth creation is not equal to productivity increases; economic measurement is not necessarily tooled to measure economic impact of a new tool or capability independently; etc.
According to chatGPT, the Internet has had a significant impact on productivity:
“The internet has had a significant impact on total economic productivity since its widespread adoption in the 1990s. Here are a few ways in which the internet has affected economic productivity:
1. Increased efficiency: The internet has made it easier and faster to communicate, share information, and conduct business transactions. This has led to increased efficiency in many industries, as companies can now communicate and collaborate with partners and customers around the world in real-time.
2. Lowered transaction costs: With the internet, businesses can now conduct transactions online, reducing the need for expensive physical infrastructure and travel. This has lowered transaction costs and made it easier for small businesses to compete with larger ones.
3. Increased competition: The internet has also made it easier for new companies to enter markets, increasing competition and driving innovation. This has led to lower prices for consumers and increased economic growth.
4. Increased access to information: The internet has made it easier for people to access information about products, services, and industries, making it easier for businesses to conduct market research and make informed decisions.
Overall, the internet has had a positive impact on total economic productivity by improving efficiency, lowering transaction costs, increasing competition, and providing greater access to information.”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is MFP that should be relevant in looking at the impact of the Internet:
“Multifactor productivity (MFP) growth represents the portion of output growth that is not accounted for by the growth of capital and labor inputs and is due to contributions of other inputs, such as technological advances in production, the introduction of a more streamlined industrial organization, relative shifts of inputs from low to high productivity industries, increased efforts of the workforce, and improvements in managerial efficiency. Similar to labor productivity growth, MFP growth can also be defined as a residual—output growth minus the growth of the combined inputs of labor and capital.”
https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2021/article/the-us-productivit...
And this article from the SF Fed shows a rather consistent growth rate from roughly 1950 to 2010, and addresses the complexity of the calculation.
https://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/publications/economi...