Blinder contributes report to book on Internet policy

University economics professor Alan Blinder '67 recently completed a report on the relationship between the Internet and the American economy. The briefing is part of a larger collection of papers addressing the Internet policy issues that will confront the next president and other elected officials when they take office next year.

The project is being coordinated by the Internet Policy Institute, a non-partisan organization that examines original research about the World Wide Web, according to IPI representative Graeme Browning.

Browning said Blinder is one of 18 experts who are producing or have produced papers that will ultimately be compiled into a book titled "Briefing the President: What the Next President of the United States Needs to Know About the Internet and its Transformative Impact on Society."

The book is designed to educate presidential and congressional candidates on the Internet's impact on society and the issues that will help shape the new mass medium, according to the IPI Website.

In addition to Blinder, the writers include Michael Armstrong, CEO of AT&T Corp.; Ellen Alderman and Caroline Kennedy, authors of the bestseller "The Right to Privacy"; and Microsoft chairman Bill Gates.

Browning said Blinder was an easy choice to address the implications of the Internet on productivity and long-term economic growth. "There are few economists out there of Blinder's caliber," she said. "He is an eminent scholar and has done a lot of work in this area."

"We were looking for people with expertise, but we also wanted good writers with some name recognition," Browning added. "This project is not for the Washington-insider crowd. We also hope to help state and local policy makers as well as the general public."

Blinder is on-leave from the University and was unavailable for comment.