Public Subsidies for Open Source? Some Economic Policy Issues of the Software Market
41 Pages Posted: 15 Apr 2003
There are 2 versions of this paper
Public Subsidies for Open Source? Some Economic Policy Issues of the Software Market
Date Written: February 2003
Abstract
This Paper discusses the economic merits of direct or indirect governmental support for open source projects. Software markets differ from standard textbook markets in three important respects that may give rise to market failures: (i) large economies of scale, (ii) crucially important innovations, (iii) significant network effects and switching costs. We analyse the differences between proprietary software and open source software with respect to these market features and ask whether open source as an alternative to proprietary software can mitigate these problems. Then we discuss the implications of various forms of governmental support for open source.
Keywords: Software market, open source, innovation incentives, public goods, public subsidies
JEL Classification: H41, O31, O38
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?
Recommended Papers
-
The Simple Economics of Open Source
By Jean Tirole and Josh Lerner
-
The Simple Economics of Open Source
By Jean Tirole and Josh Lerner
-
How Open Source Software Works: 'Free' User-to-User Assistance?
-
By Karim R. Lakhani and Robert G. Wolf
-
Open Source Software and the 'Private-Collective' Innovation Model: Issues for Organization Science
-
The Economics of Technology Sharing: Open Source and Beyond
By Jean Tirole and Josh Lerner
-
The Economics of Technology Sharing: Open Source and Beyond
By Jean Tirole and Josh Lerner
-
Community, Joining, and Specialization in Open Source Software Innovation: A Case Study
By Georg Von Krogh, Sebastian Spaeth, ...