A large share of the recent growth in the United States economy has been in high-technology industries or service industries that use high-tech services. Information and communications technologies have developed very rapidly, generating productivity growth throughout the economy. The firms developing many of these technologies�such as Oracle, Intel, and Microsoft�have achieved a dominant position in the marketplace and thus attracted the attention of competition authorities. But successful innovation, with or without patent protection, is often accompanied by a position of market power. Transitory or even not so transitory monopoly profits are the reward for successful innovation and may be required to promote a dynamic economy, as Joseph Schumpeter explained decades ago. As a result, successful innovators often find themselves in conflict with competition policy authorities.
Research Papers
Antitrust and Vertical Integration in “New Economy” Industries
Whether the firms that supply Internet hardware and software should face restrictions on the use of their property is an important and controversial policy issue. Advocates of “net neutrality” � including President Obama and the current FCC majority�believe that owners of broadband distribution systems (hardware used to distribute Internet and video services) and producers of certain “must-have” video content should be subject to prophylactic regulation transcending present-day antitrust law enforcement. Their objective is to protect the free and open culture of the Internet from efforts to foreclose or limit competition in the provision of content, including online video services, which they see as potential competition to older video distribution methods.
Should the Government Prepare Individual Income Tax Returns?
Simplifying the complex U.S. tax code is the most direct way to reduce both the public and private costs of complying with the federal income tax, but tax reform is extraordinarily difficult to achieve. Some analysts have argued that return-free filing systems, such as those used in other countries and in the state of California, could substantially reduce the costs for many individual taxpayers with relatively simple returns at little or no net administrative cost to the government.
A Fresh Start for ICANN
ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) faces a serious challenge. Twelve years after its creation, it continues to earn low marks for institutional confidence because it is widely thought to lack sufficient accountability, transparency, and legitimacy. What confidence it does engender may be diminishing, now that the Joint Project Agreement has expired and with it the authority of the United States government to oversee ICANN�s conformity with its institutional commitments.
ICANN Inc.
This paper attempts to broaden awareness of routing as a site of Internet governance. It sheds light on the historical processes and policy issues raised by the resource public key infrastructure (RPKI). The paper will explain why the RPKI has important governance implications for, 1) the autonomy of ISPs, 2) the centralization of institutional power and global compatibility, 3) the business models of the RIRs and their relationship to ICANN, and 4) the role of governments in Internet governance.