Assembling the Geographic Information Market in the United States

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter examines the construction of the geographic information market in the United States. The focus is on two key building blocks in this process: (1) the development of (legal and technical) interoperability in the collection and dissemination of geographic information, and (2) the construction of Intellectual Property (IP) regimes. These elements are explored in the context of the institutional configuration between government, the private sector, and the public. This configuration, which in the United States bounds the role of government as a producer of geographic information and limits its actions in the market, creates suitable conditions for the continued production of geographic information as input to a growing market, as well as its consumption, circulation, transformation, and use by government agencies, private firms, and the broader public. Lastly, the chapter characterizes the geographic information market in the United States as relying on the legally delimitated role of the Federal Government as a de jure producer of informational inputs that foster the development of secondary applications in addition to fulfilling its primary mission of public information. Understanding the institutional, legal, and technical dimensions of the geographic information market will enable a clearer analysis of the linkages, transactions, and logics between government agencies, private firms, and civil society groups in the production of value through geographic information and other informational resources. More generally, the author argues that identifying the interplay between specific institutional environments, governing legal frameworks, and processes of technological innovation and knowledge generation is essential to studying, governing, and regulating informational markets in the digital economy.