Computing, communications, energy, and transportation costs fell dramatically from 1990-2024.
We measure exactly how much and help you understand where the productivity gains went.
Technology keeps getting better and cheaper. Your smartphone is more powerful than supercomputers from the 1990s. Solar panels cost 98% less. Data transmission is nearly free.
Yet life doesn't feel proportionally cheaper. Why doesn't your paycheck stretch further? Where did the productivity gains go?
The Deflation Index measures technological cost reduction: rigorously and transparently.
What We Found (1990-2024)
96% Cumulative Technological Deflation
Across computing, communications, energy, and transportation, technology delivered dramatic cost reductions measured by cost-per-performance metrics. Computing fell 99%, communications 99%, energy 90%, and transportation 88%.
Each comparison reveals different insights about where productivity gains flow.
Technology delivered exponential cost reduction. Yet living standards didn't improve proportionally. The question is: where did the productivity gains go?
They flowed into asset prices, financial complexity, and intermediaries, not directly to consumers as lower prices.
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All indexed to 100 in 1990. Technology delivers dramatic deflation (cyan), while money supply expands massively (green). The gap between them reveals the divergence.
Weighted Index: 29.41% Computing + 23.53% Communications + 29.41% Energy + 17.65% Transportation
DI: 100 (1990) → 3.74 (2024) | M2: 100 → 650.2
Computing costs astronomical. Mobile phones rare and expensive. Solar power niche. Base year for all calculations. M2: $3.0T.
Internet adoption accelerates. Computing costs collapse 95% from 1990. Communications revolution begins. M2: $4.9T (+48%).
iPhone launches. Mobile computing becomes universal. HDD storage costs drop to $0.10/GB. Communications essentially free. M2: $7.4T (+124%).
Solar panel costs drop below $2/watt, beginning steep decline. Lithium-ion batteries begin 20%+ annual cost reductions. LED adoption reaches scale. M2: $8.8T (+167%).
M2 expands 24% in a single year. The largest peacetime expansion in history. Tech deflation accelerates. Gap widens dramatically. M2: $18.4T (+457%).
Computing 99.99%+ cheaper than 1990. Communications essentially free. Solar cheapest energy in history. DI: 3.74 (down 96.26%). M2: $21.3T (+550%).
Identify which sectors have real deflation vs monetary distortion. Understand where to allocate capital based on fundamental cost trends, not just nominal prices.
See which sectors are experiencing sustainable cost reduction. Build where technology delivers real abundance, not just monetary inflation.
Understand why rent tripled while computing collapsed. See the data behind why life feels more expensive despite obvious technological progress.
Access rigorous methodology and verifiable data. All calculations transparent, all sources cited, all assumptions documented on GitHub.
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Technology delivered 96% deflation across core sectors from 1990-2024. We compare this to CPI, M2, and other indicators to understand where productivity gains flowed. This is measurement, not theory.
Free downloads available: Complete Excel datasets with all formulas, sources, and calculations on the methodology page.
Real data from four fundamental technology sectors.
900+ verified calculations. 400+ data points. 35 years (1990-2024).
Data reflects year-end 2024. Next update: Q2 2026 with 2025 data.
Data from Federal Reserve, BLS, IRENA, BloombergNEF, AI Impacts, DOE, FCC.