Embracing the Self-Service Economy
Information Technology & Innovation Foundation
Daniel Castro, Robert Atkinson, and Stephen Ezell
April 15, 2010

Authors Castro, Atkinson, and Ezell examine the rapid growth of the self-service that has occurred because of information technology.  The area of self-service is any service that was previously provided by a service agent.  The authors use the example of a telephone operator, for instance, to place a call for you that is now done via self-service.

Furthermore, the authors provide examples of services that have developed into self-service because of IT, including:

• Online health
• Online banking
• E-learning
• Professional services
• Retail e-commerce
• Online customization
• Government services
• Ticketing and reservations

The authors estimate that if IT self-service was more widely adopted, the economy in the U.S. would grow roughly $130 billion annually.  They also believe this would be equivalent to providing American families an additional $1,100 in annual income.  With the implementation of self-services comes important questions with regards to the labor force in these areas.  The authors tackle the tough questions of: self-service shifting work to the consumer; self-service eliminating consumer choice and human contact; self-service being detrimental to jobs; and finally, workers not benefiting even if self-service increases productivity.

ITIF presents several policy recommendations and concludes that government should be careful to pass regulations that prohibit the growth of self-service, but should consider policies that help stimulate the economy through the use of self-service IT.

You can find the full article here.