Historical Analysis of the Microeconomic Processes Associated with the Development of the Internet
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52195/pm.v4i1.330Abstract
The bursting of the Internet Bubble indicated the end of the American economic boom of the second half of the 1990s. The multiple entrepreneurial errors made during the euphoria of that period reinforced the belief that the free market is full of imperfections that lead inevitably to a collapse. This article challenges this belief by analyzing the American government's interventions from the birth of the internet (1968) to its commercialization and privatization (1995). We demonstrate that during this period continuous doses of government intervention introduced distortions in the market process; among them, the barriers to the formation of a knowledge structure in the Internet sector, created a fertile soil for the malinvetsments of the Internet boom.
Key words: Public intervention, distortion, market failure, Internet, knowledge structure.
JEL Classification: O33 (Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes).
Resumen: El estallido de la burbuja de Internet señaló el final del boom económico americano de la segunda mitad de los años noventa del pasado siglo. Los múltiples errores empresariales cometidos durante ese período han reforzado la creencia de que el mercado libre conlleva imperfecciones que conducen inevitablemente al colapso. Este articulo desafía esa creencia analizando las intervenciones del gobierno americano desde el nacimiento de Internet (1968) hasta su comercialización y privatización (1995). Hemos demostrado que durante ese período, continuas dosis de intervención gubernamental han introducido distorsiones en el proceso de mercado. Entre ellas, las barreras a la formación de una estructura del conocimiento en el sector de Internet, crearon un terreno fértil para las malas inversiones realizadas durante el boom de Internet.
Palabras clave: Intervención pública, distorsión, fallo de mercado, Internet, estructura del conocimiento.
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