Information Society

which was formerly known as


Informational Society Online

  

by

 

Alfred L. Norman

 

All rights reserved


 

 

 April 2013: These notes will now be maintained as a blog now that I am retired.  I will keep the notes up to date and add topics of interest.

These notes provide a summary of the material covered in ECO361N: Informational Society. In the internet version of the notes you will go surfing for information rather than read Xeroxed media articles. These notes are now updated on a weekly basis as the underlying technology and procedures are changing at such a rapid rate.

Revised 11 Jan 90 - Editor: Joanna Ostrom, grader Fall 89. Revised May 92, Jul 93, Nov 93, Aug 94, May-Jun 95 - Editor: Alfred Norman. In July 1995, Mark Schleuter, a grader, supplied two paragraphs on EDI. Revised again Christmas break 1998-99. Latest revision: Dec 05 - Jan 06 Notes are revised each class. Major revision summer 2008. Minor revision summer 2009.

 

 

  Main Index Page

  • Section 1: Technological Foundation of the Modern Economy: Advances in information technologhy are transforming the world political economy. The first section provides a background for these technological advances at a level understandable by undergraduate economics majors. The chapters of this section are:
    • Dis Inv Inn [Discovery, Invention and Innovation: Definitions, Interactions, and Institutions]
    • Binary Numbers [What can be represented by binary numbers and the economic impact]
    • Microelectronics [Technology for manipulating binary numbers]
    • (Hard Soft)ware [Hardware, Software and Impact]
    • Communication [Communication technology, economics and policy]
  • Section 2: Economic impact of information technology: With constant technolgical advances the world economy is in constant flux adjusting to the advances. Business to business interaction is shifting to the Internet. Firms are constantly inventing new products for market and innovating improvements in the production process. Rivals strive to keep pace. Advances in communication and the historic fall in transportation costs (until the recent increases in energy costs) are increasing the integration of the world economy. US income distribution is being affected by this integration. Consumer markets have also begun the shift to the Internet. The chapters of this section are:
    • Supply
      • Manufacturing [Tech advances in manufacturing and agriculture]
      • Auto Info [Move to paperless, automating business, government, and social processes, and growth of information services in cyberspace]
    • Employ Income [Employment and Income}
    • Consumers
  • Section 3: Community: The role of community in informational society
    • Community
  • Section 4: Government
    • Info Policy: [Information Policy: What data should one political economic agent be able to obtain concerning other political economic agents and goods and services]
    • Government: Checks and Balances
    • Government Decentralization

 

 

 

norman@eco.utexas.edu
Latest Revision: 25 Aug 09