Data in the modern economy

The extreme view

Mark Jamison “debunks” the following myths and argues against any privacy regulation.

• Myth 1: Privacy regulations stimulate innovation
• Myth 2: People own data about them
• Myth 3: Privacy regulation is an appropriate response to fears arising from change or the unknown

3 myths about privacy in tech – 7 deadly sins of the privacy and data protection policy debate
By: Mark Jamison – American Enterprise Institute

An interesting view

What if there was an institutional arrangement in which consumers own the data associated with their behavior. Consumers then would balance their concerns for privacy against the economic gains that come from selling data to all interested parties. This equilibrium, argue Jones and Tonetti, results in substantial data sharing across firms generating consumption and welfare that are close to optimal.
Nonrivalry and the Economics of Data
Authors: Charles I. Jones, Christopher Tonetti
From: Stanford University

The market for information

The data intermediary’s central role affords him considerable market power. In particular, the ability of the data intermediary to provide terms to both sides of a product market plays a critical role in determining what kind of information gets traded, as well as the welfare and allocative properties of information markets. At the same time, the possible and actual uses of information place severe limits on the acquisition of information by a data broker, and on its ability to trade it.

Markets for Information: An Introduction
Authors: Dirk Bergemann, Alessandro Bonatti
From: Yale University, MIT