Hi all,
Last weekend we had a discussion about how to 'sell' the importance of Wikipedia to economics-focused people (a.k.a. politicians etc), and the question came up on how much Wikipedia contributes to the global economy. Many people access it daily, and the information they get from that might help them to run businesses, be more efficient etc. Third world countries (and maybe even the rest of the world) might have better educated people thanks to Wikipedia, which might make better and more efficient workers, higher literacy and cheaper university educations.
Has there been any scientific (or other) research on the effect Wikipedia has (or had) on the world economy, or even the economy of a specific country/region? There are some numbers what Wikipedia would be 'worth' if it were a commercial company, but that is not what I'm looking for. What is Wikipedia worth to society, the way it currently runs.
Alternatively, are there similar studies to other knowledge compendiums, or even 'the internet'?
Thanks for any pointers!
Lodewijk