[Wikimedia-l] Any studies on economic impact of community-produced open data?

[Thomas Dalton]

On 3 June 2012 18:25, Fred Bauder <fredbaud at fairpoint.net> wrote:
> We are serving up our product at cost. That we might, by rent seeking,
> charge a much higher price is due more to the geometry of possible rent
> seeking opportunities than to economic factors. Rent seeking, or profits,
> is an optional cost imposed by political decision.

Yes, but we're not talking about cost. We're talking about value. Just
because we are able to produce Wikipedia at very little cost doesn't
mean it has very little value.

> This situation can exist because a tiny fraction of the global workforce
> will work simply for a sense of accomplishment, or whatever. It has no
> applicability to the vast majority of workers who will toil only for
> reasonable compensation.

I think most people have an altruistic streak - looking after your
parents in their retirement is altruistic, for example. We're a little
unusual in that we're happy to work for the benefit of humanity
generally, rather than some specific, tangible beneficiaries, but
altruism in general isn't unusual.