To charge or not to charge—who pays for the information

Abstract

In any socieity the costs of providing goods and services inevitably will have to be borne by that society. Information is no exception, in that there is a direct cost or opportunity cost of gathering and communicating data. Ultimately it is we, the general public, who have to bear this cost either in the form of taxation to support information and research activities by the authorities and its beneficiaries in receipt of grants or subsidies, or in the price we pay directly for our goods and services. The true cost of information is frequently lost or distorted through the existence of a system in which public and private sectors do not always complement each other and in fact may be in open competition.

Citation

Aylward, M.M. (1982), "To charge or not to charge—who pays for the information", Aslib Proceedings, Vol. 34 No. 2, pp. 106-111. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb050827