Abstract
Digital goods generate benefits for consumers, but these benefits are largely unmeasured in the national accounts, including GDP and productivity. In this paper, we measure welfare gains from 10 popular digital goods across 13 countries by conducting large-scale incentivized online choice experiments on
representative samples of 39,717 people. We estimate that these goods—many of which are free to users—generate over $2.5 trillion in aggregate consumer welfare per year. Lower-income individuals and lower-income countries obtain relatively larger welfare gains. This suggests that digital goods reduce inequality in welfare within and across countries by disproportionately benefiting lower-income groups.
representative samples of 39,717 people. We estimate that these goods—many of which are free to users—generate over $2.5 trillion in aggregate consumer welfare per year. Lower-income individuals and lower-income countries obtain relatively larger welfare gains. This suggests that digital goods reduce inequality in welfare within and across countries by disproportionately benefiting lower-income groups.
| Original language | English |
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| Publication status | In preparation - 1 Oct 2023 |