Information and Communication as Macroeconomic Production Factors: The Impact on Telecommunications and Media Tariffs

Louis-Fran‡ois Pau
Ericsson Utveklings AB
Louis-Francois.Pau@uab.ericsson.se

Abstract

Today, in most macroeconomic models as well as in most statistics, telecommunication services as well as media flows are not treated as production factors, and the related employment in those sectors is not related to output. From a business perspective, as long as those supplies were regulated, there was no other way to treat them than as services. Today, deregulation on one hand, and the permeating influence of these sectors, mandates another look and analysis. The paper provides a formalism, and some data, in order to estimate production and/or input-output relations showing how equilibrium tariffs in telecommunications and media, and employment figures can be determined from a macroeconomic viewpoint. This is essential in view of competitive pricing and labour market equilibria. The paper only considers the transport by telecommunications and media networks, and not services or contents distributed through them.