Scott Morton.

• Position: Internet on consumer surplus - Brief Article

Scott Morton discusses the sources of consumer surplus that are likely to exist because of the types of Internet sites being used. She also discusses the problems involved in measuring all the gains from use of the Internet. Web sites that make traditional sales generate consumer surplus through availability, variety, and convenience to the consumer. Price comparison sites allow consumers to quickly and easily gather price quotes from a variety of sellers, which results in the consumer paying a lower price. Information sites provide information which the consumer can use to pick an appropriate activity or execute a task more efficiently; often these sites save consumers time in mundane tasks such as buying tickets, checking the weather, or getting driving directions. Likewise, matching sites (such as eBay) improve transactions by hugely increasing the quality of the...