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The Market Process and the Economics of QWERTY: Two Views

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Abstract

Since its publication in 1985 Paul David's “Economics of QWERTY” has provided a paradigm case for the understanding and application of path-dependent processes in economics, some of which have been identified as yielding sub-optimal outcomes. The accuracy and relevance of this case, and this entire theoretical approach, has been subjected to critical scrutiny by Stan Liebowitz and Stephen Margolis in a series of articles and in a recent book. In this article I provide a wide ranging, and largely appreciative, review of the book and highlight, in some detail, the fundamental disagreements with which it deals.

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  1. School of Management, University of Texas at Dallas, P.O. Box 830688, Richardson, TX, 75083-0688

    Peter Lewin

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Lewin, P. The Market Process and the Economics of QWERTY: Two Views. The Review of Austrian Economics 14, 65–96 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007811722566

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