A Model of the Data Economy

• 成果类型: Article; Early Access
• 署名作者: Farboodi, Maryam; Veldkamp, Laura
• 署名单位: National Bureau of Economic Research; Center for Economic & Policy Research (CEPR); National Bureau of Economic Research; Center for Economic & Policy Research (CEPR)
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMIC STUDIES
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6527
• DOI: 10.1093/restud/rdag074
• 发表日期: 2026
• 关键词: big data; uncertainty; INFORMATION; BUSINESS

摘要

In a data economy, transactions of goods and services generate data, which is stored, traded and depreciates. How are the economics of this economy different from traditional production economies? How do these differences matter for measurement of GDP, firm values, depreciation rates, welfare and externalities? We incorporate active experimentation and data as an intangible asset to devise a tractable recursive representation of the data economy. The model rationalizes why apps are often free and why even non-digital economic activity might be greater than GDP suggests. Calibrating the model using a combination of macroeconomic and financial moments suggests that the mis-measurement in U.S. GDP due to missing value of data has been as high as 6% in 2018.