The open source model is a form of software development with source code that is typically made available to all interested parties. At the core of this process is a decentralized production process: open source software development is done by a network of unpaid software developers. Using data...

In this paper, we examine how software vulnerabilities affect firms that license software and consumers that purchase software. In particular, we model three decisions of the firm: (i) an upfront investment in the quality of the software to reduce potential vulnerabilities; (ii) a policy...

The NCAA college football ratings, in which the "so-called" national champion is determined, has been plagued by controversies the last few years. The difficulty arises because there is a need to make a complete ranking of teams even though each team has a different schedule of games with a...

Software security is a major concern for vendors, consumers, and regulators since attackers that exploit vulnerabilities can cause substantial damages. When vulnerabilities are discovered after the software has been sold to consumers, the firms face a dilemma. A policy of disclosing...

Using a unique dataset we examine empirically which factors explain output per contributor in open source projects. We find that the output per contributor of open source programmes is much higher when licenses are less restrictive. Further examination suggests that the difference in output per...

The incidence of taxation and the design of an optimal tax system have been extensively discussed in the public finance literature but mainly within a competitive market setting or within a homogenous good (Cournot type) oligopoly. In a differentiated product oligopoly, the effect of taxation...

The open source model is a form of software development in which the source code is made available, free of charge, to all interested parties; further users have the right to modify and extend the program. Open source software (OSS) methods rely on developers who reveal the source code under an...

Cloud computing is defined to be Internet based computing technology, where the term 'cloud' simply means Internet -- and cloud computing refers to services that are accessed directly over the Internet. There are essentially three categories of cloud computing. (i) Iaas (Infrastructure as a...

In this Paper we consider the economics of platform competition in telecommunications. Platform competition occurs when different, sometimes incompatible, technologies compete to provide telecommunications services to end-users. Battles between competing technologies have been an important...

Two important welfare implications of network effects are that (1) market forces often result in suboptimal standardization, that is, left alone the market may fail to achieve standardization when it is socially desirable and (2) even if the market settles on a standard, the chosen standard may...