Why the Economics Profession Must Actively Participate in the Privacy Protection Debate

When Google or the US Census Bureau publishes detailed statistics on browsing habits or neighborhood characteristics, some privacy is lost for everybody while supplying public information. To date, economists have not focused on the privacy loss inherent in data publication. In their stead, these is...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:AEA papers and proceedings 2019-05, Vol.109, p.397-402
Main Authors: Abowd, John M., Schmutte, Ian M., Sexton, William N., Vilhuber, Lars
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
THE FUTURE OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH UNDER RISING RISKS AND COSTS OF INFORMATION DISCLOSURE
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Summary:When Google or the US Census Bureau publishes detailed statistics on browsing habits or neighborhood characteristics, some privacy is lost for everybody while supplying public information. To date, economists have not focused on the privacy loss inherent in data publication. In their stead, these issues have been advanced almost exclusively by computer scientists who are primarily interested in technical problems associated with protecting privacy. Economists should join the discussion, first to determine where to balance privacy protection against data quality--a social choice problem. Furthermore, economists must ensure new privacy models preserve the validity of public data for economic research.
ISSN:2574-0768
2574-0776
DOI:10.1257/pandp.20191106