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

Author

Listed:
  • John M. Abowd
  • Ian M. Schmutte
  • William N. Sexton
  • Lars Vilhuber

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • John M. Abowd & Ian M. Schmutte & William N. Sexton & Lars Vilhuber, 2019. "Why the Economics Profession Must Actively Participate in the Privacy Protection Debate," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 109, pages 397-402, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:apandp:v:109:y:2019:p:397-402
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20191106
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    Cited by:

    1. Michler, Jeffrey D. & Josephson, Anna & Kilic, Talip & Murray, Siobhan, 2022. "Privacy protection, measurement error, and the integration of remote sensing and socioeconomic survey data," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    2. Ian M. Schmutte & Nathan Yoder, 2022. "Information Design for Differential Privacy," Papers 2202.05452, arXiv.org, revised Jul 2024.
    3. Milan Frederik Klus & Julia Müller, 2021. "The digital leader: what one needs to master today’s organisational challenges," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 91(8), pages 1189-1223, October.
    4. Vilhuber, Lars, 2023. "Reproducibility and transparency versus privacy and confidentiality: Reflections from a data editor," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 235(2), pages 2285-2294.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists
    • C80 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - General
    • D71 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Social Choice; Clubs; Committees; Associations

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