Economics of Information

9.45- 1.15 MWF

Com 321A

Instructor

Benjamin J. Bates	(865) 974-4291
333 Comm Bldg.	(865) 974-5056 (fax)
School of Journalism & Electronic Media	bjbates@utk.edu
http://excellent.com.utk.edu/~bates

Course Home Page:

http://excellent.com.utk.edu/~bates/sis538home.html

Course Description (Catalog)

Costing and pricing of information; value of information and value added services; cost-benefit analysis and trade-offs; policy issues related to economic aspects of information exchange and transfer.

Course Description (Real)

An introduction to economic reasoning as applied to information goods and services, with an emphasis on the distinctive nature of those goods and services. The course will cover basic economic approaches and analysis, consider the nature of information as an economic good, and the resulting implications for business operations, policy, and economics. Focus will be given on the implications for libraries, information systems (e.g. Internet), and information policy.

Course Requirements

Student Attendance/ Discussion 10%

Due to the intensive nature summer courses, attendance at lectures is important, all deadlines are final, and no extensions can be granted. At least if you expect a grade by the end of the term. I anticipate the course will involve some traditional lecturing (particularly about the economics side) as well as broader seminar discussions, and I also anticipate (will look forward to) a lot of questions (particularly about the economics aspects), so there is an anticipation that students will be involved in class discussions.

Student Resources Participation 10% (+possible 10% bonus)

In an information age, the flood of information can overwhelm even the most diligent Prof. (not that I make that claim). Further, the economics of information is still an emerging field. Thus, you can gain credit for bringing new materials to the attention of the professor. Everyone will need to bring at least two items, at least one of which must be on-line. Be creative: these can be relevant articles, research papers, teaching examples, web resources, issues, etc. The bonus is given for particularly interesting/valuable contributions

Quizzes, Problem Sets, and Reaction Papers 50%

With the fast pace of summer terms, we'll shift from a traditional tests/final emphasis to a series of more narrowly focussed assignments. There will be a variety of quizzes over course materials, and short assignments that ask you to solve particular analytical problems, or to respond to short research questions (they may come from the books or elsewhere). There will be a mix of quantitative and qualitative assignments. Expect one or two a week.

Term Paper 30%

Each student will write a research paper dealing with some topic related to the economics of information. The range of topics and approaches is fairly wide open, but they do need to be approved by the professor. They should be fairly substantial, and contain original research and/or analysis (i.e. no reviews).

Readings:

These readings are available through my link to Amazon.com as well as campus bookstores. Check them all for competitive prices and availability.

Required:

Kingma, Bruce. Economics of Information, 2nd Ed. Libraries Unlimited. 2001. ISBN: 1563088169

Kahin and Varian, Eds. Internet Publishing and Beyond: The Economics of Digital Information and Intellectual Property. MIT Press, 2000. ISBN: 0262611597

Mosco & Wasko. The Political Economy of Information. U Wisconsin Press, 1988
Other readings as assigned

Recommended:

Anne Branscomb. Who Owns Information? New York: Basic Books, 1995.

Ronald Bettig & Herbert Schiller, (Eds.). Copyrighting Culture: The Political Economy of Intellectual Property. Westview Press.

Lesley Ellen Harris. Digital Property. McGraw-Hill Ryerson.

Herbert Schiller. Various titles

Carl Shapiro, Hal R. Varian. Information Rules : A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School, 1998

Course Schedule (tentative)

The course will be developed as we go along, partly in response to student interests, partly in response to my continuing search for interesting readings and your suggestions on materials. For now, here's the tentative topic areas. You can start reading the early chapters in the main books.

2-4 June - Introduction to Course and Economics

Readings: Start: Kingma, Mosco & Wasko, Kahin & Varian

7-11 June - Information as an Economic Good and Libraries as Firms

Readings:

14-18 June - Analysis from an economic perspective

Readings:

21-25 June - Internet and Issues

Readings:

28 June - 2 July - The Future of Information Economics & Commerce & Research Paper Presentations

Readings:

All Work Due by 4:45 p.m. 2 July 2004.