The U.S. computer software industry dominates the globe. But why has this critical industry succeeded so dramatically in world competition when so many other strategic technologies have fallen to foreign suppliers? In a detailed and well-reasoned economic analysis, Siwek and Furchtgott-Roth present the first truly comprehensive examination of international trade in computer software.The authors identify software as one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States as measured by value-added to gross domestic product, employment, and foreign sales. They document the historical importance of U.S.-produced software in both American and foreign markets and they present country-by-country assessments of software markets around the world. Siwek and Furchtgott-Roth identify the principal areas of advantage held by the U.S. software industry and they go on to assess the future prospects of U.S. software in world markets.

The first truly comprehensive examination of international trade in computer software explaining why the United States has succeeded so dramatically in dominating it.

IntroductionImportance of Computer Software to the United StatesThe Global Dominance of U.S.-Produced SoftwareEconomic Theories of International TradeThe U.S. Software Industry Should Not Have Succeeded in International TradeWhy the U.S. Software Industry Has Succeeded: Historical PerspectiveWhy the U.S. Software Industry Has Succeeded: Size of the Domestic MarketWhy the U.S. Software Industry Would Have Succeeded Without a Large Domestic MarketA Comparative Analysis of Trade: Software versus Motion PicturesThe Future of U.S. Trade in SoftwarePolicy Issues for the Software IndustryConclusionsBibliographyIndex