Also available on Charlie's Angel: project.

Introduction

Purpose

The Microsoft trial signals a willingness on the part of the United States government to take an active role in how markets shape the technology future of the U.S.  Whether or not you agree with the Justice Department in regards to the Microsoft trial, it is clear that the government will no longer let markets be the only determinant of the future of technology, and it is clear that a better understanding of when government should act to counter market forces is required by all involved parties.  Economic theory provides a clear explication of the governmental role in markets, rooted in an alignment of economic forces and the needs of society.  An explanation of this theory is something that government, industry, and stakeholder groups and individuals (which essentially includes everyone) all clearly need.  Furthermore, articulation of what the government's role in technology markets will be is especially timely and important to all involved.

If government policy makers, agencies, and advisors want to make informed decisions and achieve the societal goals they set for themselves then they require some way of determining when government action is warranted or required by markets and where their invasions into the working of the market are inappropriate or counterproductive.  This is especially important to the information technology sector, as the industry, as massive and well funded as it currently is, is still in a critical formative state.  The outcome is not certain, and the government, with the proper understanding, could have a lot of say in the way that the information technology industry develops.

For information technology corporations, businesses, professionals, and groups and individuals concerned with information technology the need for understanding of the role of the government according to economic theories is less clear, but it is especially for this reason that an explanation is all the more vital.  These groups stand to benefit greatly from foreknowledge of the conditions for governmental intervention so as to avoid the intervention.  Legal battles, legislation, regulation, and direct governmental involvement in markets (such as in the Microsoft case) are costly, messy, time-consuming, and wasteful for all parties involved.  Industry groups would be well served by an awareness of these issues but, despite a trend toward understanding of late, still appear to need to be convinced of the necessity of understanding the governments role in economic theories of markets.

Achievement of this explanation and specific application to information technology shape the goals of this project.