Business Quote by Nathan Myhrvold
“Regardless of how it's done, transaction costs will continue to plummet as computers get more powerful. Low transaction costs are a wonderful thing if you're in the transaction business. They're wonderful for consumers too, making it cheaper and easier to buy things and creating new things to buy.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Interview on technology trends, 2015
As computing power rises, transaction costs keep falling, benefiting both businesses and consumers by making exchanges cheaper and enabling new markets.
In simple terms: More powerful computers lower transaction costs for everyone.
Key Takeaway
Leverage low costs to innovate and expand services.
Themes
technology
economics
innovation
Mood
optimistic
analytical
Type
observational
predictive
When to use this quote
- e‑commerce
- financial services
- platform development
- consumer pricing
- new product creation
Key Concepts
network effects
scaling
digital markets
Questions to Reflect On
- How can firms protect quality while exploiting low costs?
- What new services become viable when transaction costs drop?
A Different Perspective
If costs become too low, quality or security may be compromised.
![“[S]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once, for example, when I was just starting out in the food business, I was hired by the caper people to develop a lot of recipes using capers, and it was weeks of…” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d79/nora-ephron-1217_business_s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-th_980.jpg)
![“If the State does not acquire supremacy over [vast private] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bad/bertrand-russell-69_acquire_if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy_1379.jpg)