Fairfield University Economist Writes Book On E-Commerce And The Internet

FAIRFIELD — Contrary to popular belief, the fall of the dot-coms two years ago did not take the vast majority of web businesses to an early grave. In fact, only about 1,500 of the approximately 5,000 dot-com startups have gone out of business, writes Edward Deak, PhD, in a new book.

Dr Deak, a professor of economics at Fairfield University, tackles many misconceptions in his overview of the economics of the Internet, The Economics of e-Commerce and The Internet (Southwestern Thomson Learning, 2003).

The book, which retails for $97.99, is designed as a classroom text for educators who want to teach e-commerce. But the material is accessible to the average reader, Dr Deak said, adding that the text contains few economic equations and fully explains those that it uses. The publisher was looking for good pedagogical material on e-commerce, Dr Deak said. Unlike existing books on the topic, Economics of e-Commerce is not a how-to on setting up or running an Internet business, he added.

“It’s a look at the strategies, successes, failures, and some of the key e-commerce firms, both business-to-consumer and business-to-business,” Dr Deak said.

For example, Dr Deak takes readers through the failure of grocery retailer Webvan, and the reasons for the unprecedented success of eBay. One chapter deals with the infamous dot-com IPO scandals for which the big Wall Street firms are still answering. Another chapter considers the ever-timely issues of privacy and security. Helping developing nations use the Internet to grow their economies faster is the material for yet another section of the book.

Dr Deak began writing the text in the spring of 2001, just before the rapid plummet of inflated technology stock prices.

“It was like quicksand under my feet,” Dr Deak said, recalling how news on the sector changed daily.

Dr Deak earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate in economics from the University of Connecticut. His first book, Environmental Factors in Transportation Planning, 1972, was the subject of his doctoral thesis. Often quoted in the media for his economic expertise, Dr Deak has also published numerous economic forecasts, including a semiannual forecast of the Connecticut economy for The New England Economic Project in Boston, Mass.