THE INFORMATION ECONOMY: Sources and Methods for Measuring the Primary Information Sector (Detailed Industry Reports)
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 142 206 IR 005 062 AUTHOR Porat,M rc Uri TITLE The Info mation Etonomy; Sources andMethods for' Measurin the Primary Information Sector (Detailed Ineustry Reports). INSTITUTION Office o Telecommunications (DOC),.Washington, D.C. ZpONS AGENCY Nationall Science Foundation, Washington, D.C. 'REPORT NO OT-SP-77 12(2) PUB DATE May 77 GRANT APR-7609015 NOTE 204p.; Fpr related documents see IR 005 061-069 ; Tables mRy be marginally legible due to smalltype AVAILABLE FROM Superintendent of Documents,:U.S. Government printing Office; kiashington, D.C. 20402 (Stock No. '003-000-1DC513-5) EDRS"-PRICE MF-$C.83 HC-$11.37 Pius Postage. DESCRIPTORS. *Economi7 Research; *Employment Statistics; Employmebt.Trends; Federal Government; *Industrial Structur; Industry; InformationServices; *IfiforIatIOn Utilization; Input Output Analysis; *National Surveys ABSTRACT This report series defines and measuresthe winformation activity" within he national economy."Information activity" is defined to induct; those specificindustries and occupations whose primary function is toproduce, proces'7, or transmit economically valuablr information.Changes in the-national labor force'are analyzed Over 120-year span. This Volume presents 'reports of the 25 major indusirriesthat compose the primary . information sector. Each reporr discussesthe reasoning behind 'considering the industry as 1,1:t et theprimary information sector, a breakdown of.the subordinate industriesthat Compose the larger industrial-category, allarrattye,of_theinformational aspects of the industry, and'.a report of thefinal demand and value-added components. The service, manufacturing,and construction sectors of' thc .economy are considered.(Author/DAG) ********************************************************************\ Documents acquired by EEIC include manyinformal unpublished * materials not availablefrom other sources.ERiC makes every effort * to obtain the best copyavailable. Nevertheless;\ items of marginal * * reproducibility are oftenencountered and this affects thequality * * of the microfiche andhardcopy reproductions ERIC \makesavailable * .* via the ERIC Document ReproductionService (EDRS) .\EDRS is not * responsible for the gualityof the originaldozument. Reproductions * * supplied by EDRS are the bestthat can be made from. theoriginal. ******************************.***********************************'****** . S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. EDUCATIDN & WELFARE KATIONAL INSTITUTE OF )T SPECIAL PUBLICATION 77-12 (2) EDUCATION THIS 00CUMENT HASBEEN REPRO- DUCED EXACTLY AS RECC+VE0FROM' TNE PERSON OR ORGANIZ^TIONOR.Gf N IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STAY F.0 00 NOT NECESSAR,LYREPRE- SENT OcGICiAt. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EOUC A ;ION POSIT!ON ORPOLICY THE INFORMATION ECONOMY: Sources and Methods for Measuring the Primary Information Sector (Detailed Industry Reports) Dr. Marc Uri Porat COIkVMUM BESI This report was prepared by the Office of Telecom- munications with partial support of National Science foundation grant No. APR-7609015. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations ex- pressed in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Scien0 Fci in- dation or the Department of Commerco of the U.S.'Govern- merit. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE ./. Juanita M. Kreps, Secretary Jordan J.Baruch/ Assistant Secretary for Science and, TeuhnologY OFFICE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS John M. FIchardson. DireCtor May 19 7 7 UNITEb STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE OFFICE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS STATEMENT OF MISSION The mission of the Office of 1-elecommunications in the Department of Commerce is to assist the Department in fostering,F.erving, and promoting the nation's economic ,development' andtechnological advancement by improving man's comprehension of telecommuni- cation science and by assuring effective use and growthof the nation's telecommunication resources. In carrying out this mission, the Office Conducts.research needed in the- evaluation anddevelopment of policy as required by the 'Department ofCommerce AssisV, other government agencies in the useof telecommuni- cations Conducts research, engineering, and analysis'in the genesal field of telecommunication science to meet governmentneeds Acquires, analyzes, synthesizes, and disseminatesinformation for the efficient use of the nation's telecommunication re7 sOurCe$. PerfOrmSanal;,sis;engineerin, andrelatedadministrative functiens responsive to the needs of the Director of theOffice of Telecommunications Polky, Executi,:e (31fice ofthe Presi- dent, in the performance of Ilk responsibilities for the manage- ment-of the radio spectrum 'Conducts research needed in the evaluation and development of telecommunication policy as required by theOffice of Tele- connnunications I uh. y, pursuanf.to fixecutive Order11556 Printing ()Mei, For by tin Supilintinritkrit I).C. i:04(r.i No. FOREWORD ., PhysiCs a'discipline at the heart of our lalt major technologiCaIrevolution, yields a quotation that is highly appropriate tothe present work: When you..danT-measure what you are speaking about, and expresS-lt in numbers, you know something about it;lc>-iit--,when you cannot measure it,_when you ca ot express it in numbers, your knowledge s.of a meager and unsatisfactory kind:oit may be the beginning of knowledle, but you have scarcely, in Your thoughts, a...:vanced to,the stage of science. -- William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, (182471.907) English Physicist Notions of yet another major revolution, one that will bring about a "post-industrial" society, have been in the air for some. time now: Yet, few steps f-oward the measurement'of this reVolutionrs most important element -- information activities were taken until Dr. Porat began the investigation that is reported in.these volumes:We alight say, then, that- this study, truly'a seminal one,_pushes our knowledge of an infOrmation economy closer to "the stage of science.:" This report proposes a conceptual framework for defining the information activities of an advanced economy, and.prescribes an objective.way to quantify .them. Without such definition and measurement, I. cannot imagine how.we.c formulate sound policy for an information society. The fa that so many information policy iSsues are pressing upon u/ adds to the pertinence of the research. It may strike some as odd that the Office of Teleco 'munications, an organization eonclerned principally with telecommunications technology, wold offer a report deal ng with. the whole range of informatibn activities.The ex lanation lies in the, need,to view'telecomnunications in the larg_r contex of its effects on other spects of society- S tellite networks, for example, can be an instrument fk..r region l etonomic development. Retail terminals ean,perform bzynking functions. And electronic.communicationsis steadilyi diminishing the volume of traditional postal deliver. Thus, it 'is essential to appreciate how issues internal 0- telecommunications influence other kinds of information activities. Conversely, ways of achieving broader policy objectiives might .well produce. decisions affecting telecommunica-:7. tion/services. I have.in mind such goals as the provision of equal access to high-quality health care.or the expansion of continuing education, both of which obviously can be facilitated by the electronic media. Ta-,the extent that telecoMmunicationS and its sister technology, computers, are at the core of,the infrastructure of the information society, their reklationships with the larger spciety are pverdf. bit .as important as their internal problems.' . ' (iii) The concepts and methods describedin these volumes have begun to attract wide nationaland international notice. They are cited by officials of.theCongress, the Executive Branch, and the regulatory agencies. ,They are being studied by international organizations. Yet, in spite of all the acknowledgments,. this study constitutesonly a point of departure-toward a more completeunderstanding of the information society. 1.qe must devise and testalternative representations of the information economyagainst this ona We still have o settle otthe best model, achieve comparability among models in othercount..ries, produce trend data., and construct themethods for predicting consequences of alternativepolicy .decisiOns. I am confident that thisadditional work will be taken up by others. Moreover, I believe tha-ttheirefforts will sharpen these concepts into a new tool, atool of great value because of its clear relevanceto the course of ()lir, world's complex societies. - i John-M. Richardson _Director (iv) INTRODUCTORY NOTE Science, dojille and techndlogy are'inextricably interconnected American society. It is therefore fitting that this effort to clarify one aspect of their impact Was a joint project of he National Sci:Ice, FoundatiOn and/the Department of Oommerce. The National .Science Foundation provided the fOnds needed to undertake the project, /the Department of CoMmerce the institutiOnal setting in vqiich to conduct it, 7he hond was cemented through a cgmmon concern with telecommunications technologies and policies. We wete particularly motivated by the prospeCt of increasing/ the substance surroundintl.fascinating concepts about' the/changing nature of American society.' The' . evident 4Cceleration in inventiO and applibation of informatfon technologies and the\Social and economic change wIlich accompanies this development, is directly relevant to a wide range of policy'concerns. The findings of this research are provocative and Concise!.