Overview
The digital economy has been rapidly changing as new
communication and information technologies have been
developed. In 1995, there were roughly 16 million Internet
users across the globe; by 2008 there were nearly 1.5 billion, about 22 percent
of the world's population. Two-thirds of U.S. adults had in-home Internet access
by 2008. Hosts, also known as end-user computers, grew from 1,000 in 1984 to
570 million worldwide in 2008. Online retail sales in the U.S. went from $31
billion in 2001 to $107 billion in 2007. Online wholesale trade in 2006 was
an estimated $613 billion, or approximately 16 percent of sales. Online
wholesale trade in farm products was an estimated $5 billion, or 4 percent
of all wholesale farm product sales in 2006. The rural economy has not been
left behind, but as the digital economy grows, questions of where it is available,
who participates and for what, and the potential role for public policy have
arisen.
Get the Full Briefing
See sections in the Contents box 
You Might Also Be Interested In
|
