& BRIEFLY NOTED: For 2022-03-03 Th: How important a leading sector can possibly be depends on (a) what share of the economy it starts out at, (b) what is its average price elasticity of demand, and (c) how fast its rate of technical progress turns out to be. The price-elasticity of demand for microprocessors is high, and the rate of technological progress in the sector is unbelievably large. Yes, I know that the aggregate numbers the BEA calculates do not show it, and have not shown it for a long time. But I have good reason, I think, to believe that precisely because information goods are non-rival, and hence it is difficult to capture value from selling them, that the ratio of user surplus to factor cost for those information goods we do manage to produce is much higher than for physical brick-and-mortar. And progress in microprocessors is enabling us to produce ever larger quantities and qualities of information goods. If these powers are used for good, and not for evil…
Does anyone have the full text for Arjun Appadurai's comments?