The Economic Value of Information

Abstract

Information theorists have long struggled with the problem of establishing a mechanism for the valuation of the enigmatic substance of data. With the relatively recent advent of electronic databases, on-line access, and the importance of telecommunications, this question has received growing attention. This article reviews, from the perspective of a computer scientist, commonly accepted notions of information value, before rejecting them and insisting upon the importance of using an economic commodity value approach as the most meaningful way to establish information value.