Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- 1 Privacy from a Historical Perspective
- Legislating Privacy: Technology, Social Values, and Public Policy
- 2 Privacy from a Legal Perspective
- Three Dimensions of Privacy
- 3 Privacy from an Ethical Perspective
- Nudging: A Very Short Guide
- 4 Privacy from an Economic Perspective
- Security, Privacy, and the Internet of Things (IoT)
- 5 Privacy from an Informatics Perspective
- Political Science and Privacy
- 6 Privacy from an Intelligence Perspective
- A Privacy Doctrine for the Cyber Age
- 7 Privacy from an Archival Perspective
- Medical Privacy: Where Deontology and Consequentialism Meet
- 8 Privacy from a Medical Perspective
- Privacy Law – on the Books and on the Ground
- 9 Privacy from a Media Studies Perspective
- Diversity and Accountability in Data-Rich Markets
- 10 Privacy from a Communication Science Perspective
- Still Uneasy: a Life with Privacy
- 11 Privacy from an Anthropological Perspective
- About the Authors
4 - Privacy from an Economic Perspective
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- 1 Privacy from a Historical Perspective
- Legislating Privacy: Technology, Social Values, and Public Policy
- 2 Privacy from a Legal Perspective
- Three Dimensions of Privacy
- 3 Privacy from an Ethical Perspective
- Nudging: A Very Short Guide
- 4 Privacy from an Economic Perspective
- Security, Privacy, and the Internet of Things (IoT)
- 5 Privacy from an Informatics Perspective
- Political Science and Privacy
- 6 Privacy from an Intelligence Perspective
- A Privacy Doctrine for the Cyber Age
- 7 Privacy from an Archival Perspective
- Medical Privacy: Where Deontology and Consequentialism Meet
- 8 Privacy from a Medical Perspective
- Privacy Law – on the Books and on the Ground
- 9 Privacy from a Media Studies Perspective
- Diversity and Accountability in Data-Rich Markets
- 10 Privacy from a Communication Science Perspective
- Still Uneasy: a Life with Privacy
- 11 Privacy from an Anthropological Perspective
- About the Authors
Summary
Introduction
Elsewhere in this book, it has been made clear that privacy is a multidisciplinary field that can and should be viewed through many different lenses – e.g. social, legal, psychological, political, philosophical, ethical, technological, and economic (Hui and Png 2005). If privacy is studied through an economic lens, a multitude of intriguing questions arises. What are the economic tradeoffs when it comes to privacy, both on the individual level and on the policy level? Is there a way to determine the economic value of privacy? Is there a difference between the real and perceived value of privacy? What are the individual, organizational, and societal costs and benefits of maintaining or giving up privacy? In the field of privacy economics, researchers are looking for the answers to these and similar questions, which recent technological and social developments have made more relevant than ever.
This section will introduce some basic terms and concepts in economics that are relevant for this chapter; it will discuss the field of privacy economics; and it will touch upon the social-economic impact of current technological developments.
What is economics?
While most people will have an intuitive understanding of what the longstanding social science of economics is about, Backhouse and Medema (2009) point out that, in fact, the word economics has many definitions and interpretations. To one, it is the study of economies, both at the individual level and for society as a whole (Krugman and Wells 2004); to others, it is the study of how society manages its scarce resources (Mankiw 2001). The definition and interpretation of economics may vary from scholar to scholar. This chapter adopts the Oxford Dictionary's definition: the branch of knowledge concerned with the production, consumption, and transfer of wealth.
Note on terminology: this chapter will follow the economic tradition to distinguish the individual agents in an economic transaction by using terms that clarify their role, such as consumer and merchant. These terms may pertain to individuals or organizations, depending on the context.
Within the field of economics, a distinction is made between macroeconomics and microeconomics.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Handbook of Privacy StudiesAn Interdisciplinary Introduction, pp. 181 - 208Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2018