Software bugs are costing the U.S. economy an estimated $59.5 billion each year, with more than half of the cost borne by end users and the remainder by developers and vendors, according to a new federal study.

Improvements in testing could reduce this cost by about a third, or $22.5 billion, but it won't eliminate all software errors, the study said. Of the total $59.5 billion cost, users incurred 64% of the cost and developers 36%.

The findings were released yesterday in a 309-page study conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a federal agency that conducts extensive research on technology issues.

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