Essays on Internet and Information Economics

Abstract

In the last decade we have witnessed advances in information and communication technologies. These ICTs play a central role in the world economy: the rise of the Internet has facilitated the dissemination of information, while technological progress at the same time enhances the acquisition of information, for example in health care. Nevertheless, information processing is still bound by human nature, and the ease by which one economic agent can nowadays contact another may overload the latter. Other limitations include the fact that not everything of value can be digitalized, that exchange via Internet is indirect and disclosure of personal information may enable discrimination. The impact of these technologies on society is therefore equivocal. This book consists of five essays that each discuss some of the above issues and their impact on markets, with applications to e- commerce, insurance and the competition for attention