Markets for Information: An Introduction

Dirk Bergemann and Alessandro Bonatti

Annual Review of Economics, 2019, vol. 11, issue 1, 85-107

Abstract: We survey a recent and growing literature on markets for information. We offer a comprehensive view of information markets through an integrated model of consumers, information intermediaries, and firms. The model embeds a large set of applications ranging from sponsored-search advertising to credit scores to information sharing among competitors. We then zoom in to one of the critical elements in the markets for information: the design of the information. We distinguish between ex ante sales of information (the buyer acquires an information structure) and ex post sales (the buyer pays for specific realizations). We relate this distinction to the different products that brokers, advertisers, and publishers use to trade consumer information online. We discuss the endogenous limits to the trade of information that derive from the potential adverse use of information to the consumers. Finally, we discuss recommender systems and other information filtering systems that use artificial intelligence to predict ratings or preferences in markets for indirect information.

Date: 2019
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (81)

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-economics-080315-015439
Full text downloads are only available to subscribers. Visit the abstract page for more information.

Related works:
Working Paper: Markets for Information: An Introduction (2018)
Working Paper: Markets for Information: An Introduction (2018)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:anr:reveco:v:11:y:2019:p:85-107

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.annualreviews.org/action/ecommerce

DOI: 10.1146/annurev-economics-080315-015439

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Annual Review of Economics from Annual Reviews Annual Reviews 4139 El Camino Way Palo Alto, CA 94306, USA.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by http://www.annualreviews.org ().