The Economics of Privacy By Avi Goldfarb, Catherine E. Tucker
Author(s): Avi Goldfarb, Catherine E. Tucker
Series: National Bureau of Economic Research Conference Report
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Year: 2024
Language: English
Pages: 174
ISBN: 9780226834085, 9780226834078
Size: 7 MB
Extension: epub
A foundational new collection that investigates the mechanics of privacy in the digital age.
The decreasing costs of collecting, storing, and processing data have enabled businesses and governments to better their products and services, but they have also resulted in databases containing comprehensive individual-level data, raising privacy issues. This collection covers research on the economics of privacy and addresses unanswered questions about the value of privacy, the roles of property rights and data markets, the relationship between privacy and inequality, and the political economy of privacy legislation.
Various topics emerge throughout the chapters. One is that creating a market for the right to privacy may not be sufficient to address privacy concerns, even if property rights are well-defined and transaction costs are minimal. Another issue is that it is difficult to quantify and assess the benefits of privacy, especially when people have an inherent need for privacy. Most prior attempts at valuation have concentrated solely on quantifiable economic results, such as innovation. Finally, defining privacy from an economic perspective is difficult. The broader academic and legal literature contains numerous definitions of privacy, and different definitions may be acceptable in different settings. The chapters look at a number of frameworks for answering these concerns and offer new perspectives on the role of economics research in understanding the advantages and costs of privacy and data flows. As the digital economy broadens the scope of economic theory and research, The Economics of Privacy offers the most complete overview of this topic and its future directions.
The Economics of Privacy By Avi Goldfarb, Catherine E. Tucker