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Broadband, ICT Investment and Public Policy. Robert W. Crandall The Brookings Institution and Criterion Economics KMB Video Journal 41 st Invitational Conference St. Pete Beach, FL May 12-14, 2008. The OECD Estimates of Broadband Penetration Show the U.S. Lagging.
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Broadband, ICT Investment and Public Policy Robert W. Crandall The Brookings Institution and Criterion Economics KMB Video Journal 41st Invitational Conference St. Pete Beach, FL May 12-14, 2008
The OECD Estimates of Broadband PenetrationShow the U.S. Lagging
But the OECD Measures Are Very Misleading • Generally ignore wireless broadband • Fail to adjust for household size • Include business subscribers with residential subscribers for DSL • Do not capture other high-speed business services delivered by telcos • Result: Countries with highest “broadband penetration” are, in reality, those with greatest business use of mass-market broadband –presumably because high-speed dedicated lines are either too expensive or unavailable
Household Penetration Statistics Year-End 2006 Provide a Very Different Picture U.S. Household Penetration: 47% as of October 2006 Source: European Commission, E-Communications Household Survey, 2007; Pew (2007)
A Much Broader “Connectivity Index” Has Been Constructed Using 25 Indicators Source: Waverman, Dasgupta & Tonkin, The Connectivity Scorecard, LECG, 2008
The United States Has the Highest Connectivity Index Among OECD Countries Summary of The Connectivity Scorecard • Country Score • United States 6.97 • Sweden 6.83 • Japan 6.80 • Canada 6.50 • UK 6.10 • Finland 6.10 • Australia 5.93 • Germany 5.52 • France 5.07 1 • Korea 4.78 • Hong Kong 4.46 • Italy 3.85 • Spain 3.56 • Hungary 3.18 • Czech 3.11 • Poland 2.18 Source: Waverman, Dasgupta & Tonkin, The Connectivity Scorecard, 2008
And Productivity Growth Has Been Much Greater in the U.S. than in the EU Source: Groningen Growth & Development Center
Dale Jorgenson and Colleagues Have Estimated Sources of U.S. Productivity Growth
Information Technology Drives U.S. Productivity Growth, but Software Has Dominated Other IT Products Source; Dale Jorgenson, PFF Presentation, 2007