Would you give up Google for $17,000 a year? The Federal Reserve wants to know (3 minute read)
The Federal Reserve is trying to work out the value of the internet, as while the current expansion of the economy is the longest in history, productivity gains are weak, and GDP growth is far from stellar. This may be due to the fact that many of the most used products on the internet are free, and GDP measures the value of products and services that are bought and sold. In a study on the value of these services, it was found that the median user of Facebook would give up the service for $48 a month, people would give up YouTube for $1,173 a year, and it would take $17,530 for users to give up search engines for a year. The studies on the value of free internet services found that the GDP would be higher if the value of these services were included in calculations.