2023:Program/Research, Science, and Medicine/VDMU8R-The invisible tax of free knowledge: Evidence from the Wikimedia projects
Title: The invisible tax of free knowledge: Evidence from the Wikimedia projects
Speakers:
Kiril Simeonovski
My name is Kiril Simeonovski from the Macedonian Wikipedia but also active on the English Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons and Wikidata. I am a founding member of Wikimedia Macedonia and Shared Knowledge, who used to serve as a board member of Wikimedia Macedonia from 2009 to 2013 and has been president of Shared Knowledge since 2014.
Room: Room 324
Start time: Fri, 18 Aug 2023 11:45:00 +0800
End time: Fri, 18 Aug 2023 12:15:00 +0800
Type: No (pretalx) session type id specified
Track: Research, Science, and Medicine
Submission state: confirmed
Duration: 30 minutes
Do not record: false
Presentation language: en
Abstract & description[edit source]
Abstract[edit source]
The invisible tax of free knowledge is a concept that describes the degree of excludability of free knowledge as a result of socio-economic factors, such as digital divide, economic development and censorship. This research presents a methodology for calculating the invisible tax on a country level based on data from the Wikimedia projects.
Description[edit source]
The content provided through the Wikimedia projects is a classical example free knowledge. In turn, as free knowledge is said to be a public good, the content of the Wikimedia projects can also be considered as such. Its consumption by any one cannot affect the consumption by others, which makes it non-rivalrous, and its freely accessible by any one, which makes it non-excludable. However, the accuracy of the non-excludability is disputed as there are people with unequal access to the Wikimedia projects around the world. In some countries of the developing world, people still do not have access to digital technologies and lack digital skills (digital divide), which is mostly a result of the lack of economic development and the high poverty rates. In other countries, the problem is of different nature because the access to the content is restricted by the authorities (censorship).
The certain degree of excludability of public goods has been well-known to economists for a long time and, hence, the notion of ‘impure public good’ occurred. This research aims to measure the degree of excludability of the content on the Wikimedia projects through the differences in page views on the Wikimedia projects across countries. In addition, it identifies the Internet penetration, the Internet surveillance and the digital skills as primary determinants of the differences. The estimated excludability is referred to as ‘invisible tax’ as it reduces the aggregate marginal benefit on the demand side and the aggregate supply of content, thus producing a deadweight loss.
The results from the research may be useful in mapping countries on the basis of the level of excludability of the Wikimedia projects so that programmes and initiatives to solve this problem are planned and targeted more efficiently.
Further details[edit source]
Qn. How does your session relate to the event themes: Diversity, Collaboration Future?
This session includes an analysis on a country level in which countries from different parts of the world are literally juxtaposed in order to present the differences between them. Its ultimate goal is harness the diversity of the Wikimedia movement by identifying priorities for future engagement.
Qn. What is the experience level needed for the audience for your session?
Everyone can participate in this session
Qn. What is the most appropriate format for this session?
Onsite in Singapore
Remote online participation, livestreamed- Remote from a satellite event
- Hybrid with some participants in Singapore and others dialing in remotely
- Pre-recorded and available on demand
