Measuring the welfare gain from personal computers
By: Jeremy Greenwood, Karen A. Kopecky
Contributors: Kopecky, Karen A.; National Bureau of Economic Research
Series: NBER working paper series -- working paper 13592; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research : Online) -- working paper no. 13592.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2007
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Format: [electronic resource] /
Description: "The welfare gain to consumers from the introduction of personal computers is estimated here.  A simple model of consumer demand is formulated that uses a slightly modified version of standard preferences.  The modification permits marginal utility, and hence total utility, to be finite when the consumption of computers is zero.  This implies that the good won't be consumed at a high enough price.  It also bounds the consumer surplus derived from the product.  The model is calibrated/estimated using standard national income and product account data.  The welfare gain from the introduction of personal computers is about 4 percent of consumption expenditure"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.
Notes: Title from PDF file as viewed on 11/30/2007.

Includes bibliographical references.

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