cover image Digital Deflation

Digital Deflation

Graham Tanaka. McGraw-Hill Companies, $27.95 (418pp) ISBN 978-0-07-137617-4

Today's world of rapidly advancing digital technology, Tanaka argues, has created a rare phenomenon in the economy: superior products are being delivered to consumers at the same or lower prices than in years past. Tanaka, an economist and money manager, presents his theory of""digital deflation,"" which converts the improvement in performance and quality of a product or service into an annual percentage increase in real economic value for the consumer. If the government would combine this phenomenon with fiscal policy reforms and a more accurate counting of economic growth, Tanaka says, we would see higher employment rates, declining interest rates and rising stock prices. The book has the intensive, highly technical detail of a doctoral dissertation and is probably too dense for general readers, but those with expertise and interest in the field will find Tanaka's theory stimulating and thoroughly researched.