The Economics of Maps

Journal of Economic Perspectives - Tập 34 Số 1 - Trang 196-221 - 2020
Abhishek Nagaraj1, Scott Stern2
1Abhishek Nagaraj is Assistant Professor in the Management of Organizations, University of California at Berkeley, Haas School of Business, Berkeley, California.
2Scott Stern is David Sarnoff Professor of Management, MIT Sloan School of Business, Cambridge, Massachusetts and Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Tóm tắt

For centuries, maps have codified the extent of human geographic knowledge and shaped discovery and economic decision-making. Economists across many fields, including urban economics, public finance, political economy, and economic geography, have long employed maps, yet have largely abstracted away from exploring the economic determinants and consequences of maps as a subject of independent study. In this essay, we first review and unify recent literature in a variety of different fields that highlights the economic and social consequences of maps, along with an overview of the modern geospatial industry. We then outline our economic framework in which a given map is the result of economic choices around map data and designs, resulting in variations in private and social returns to mapmaking. We highlight five important economic and institutional factors shaping mapmakers’ data and design choices. Our essay ends by proposing that economists pay more attention to the endogeneity of mapmaking and the resulting consequences for economic and social welfare.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

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Thông tin xuất bản

Journal of Economic Perspectives

Tập 34 Số 1

196-221

Thông tin tác giả