一个数据要素的经济学新理论框架

A New Theoretical Framework for the Economics of Data

本文基于一个数据要素的经济学新理论框架,围绕平台、流量和数据等数字经济新元素,研究了数据要素市场发展中的经济规律和关键问题。该框架主要基于博弈论与信息经济学,强调数据要素的非竞争性和副产品特性是其区别于其他传统生产要素的核心特点和优势,规模收益递增和网络效应意味着数据要素在价值创造和分配中可以实现“1+1>2”的效果,通过放大、叠加、倍增作用提高其他要素的全要素生产率。本文认为,当前数据要素市场的发展仍需解决如何合理衡量数据要素收益和贡献,以及构建初次分配、再分配和第三次分配机制等关键问题,应鼓励市场主体逐步探索和完善数据交易模式和定价体系,并通过税收设计和共享开放实现数据红利的再分配,从而更充分地提升数据要素价值。

Information technology,represented by big data and artificial intelligence,is advancing rapidly,bringing about profound business model innovations and leading to an explosive growth and massive aggregation of data.Data is increasingly becoming a crucial strategic resource and a novel factor of production,and the development of the data market is becoming the core driving force for the high⁃quality development of China’s digital economy.However,regarding data as a factor of production and circulating data in a market are seminal concepts and there are no existing theories to guide their development.Although the new business models in the digital economy suggest that conventional theoretical frameworks in economics are no longer applicable in certain areas,they also make the rationality assumption in traditional economics increasingly align with reality.In practice,the development of China’s data market still faces various challenges.This paper,based on a new theoretical framework for the economics of data,focuses on the new elements of the digital economy such as platforms,traffic,and data,and studies the principles and key questions in the development of the data market.This framework is mainly based on game theory and information economics,emphasizing that the data is different from other traditional production factors because it is non-rival and it is a by-product.The increasing returns to scale and network effects mean that the data can achieve greater value creation than the sum of its parts,and improve the total factor productivity of other factors through amplification,superposition,and multiplication.Currently,the development of the data market still needs to address issues such as how to measure the value and contributions of data reasonably in order to provide sufficient incentives for participation.Additionally,it is necessary to design and implement primary,secondary,and tertiary distribution policies that achieve more equitable outcomes.Encouraging various market entities to explore and improve data trading mechanisms and pricing schemes while redistributing benefits from data through optimal tax system designs and data sharing initiatives can facilitate the full release of the value of data and improvement in social welfare.Compared with existing literature,the contribution of this paper lies in proposing a new theoretical framework that combines the game theory and information economics.It analyzes traffic,data,innovation,and personalized services as an organic whole,and summarizes the positive feedback loop embedded in the digital economy with data as its core production factor.By incorporating the new characteristics of data,this paper constructs a topological graph to illustrate an allocation and distribution system for data.In particular,the creation of value from data proceeds in a direction opposite to the flow of data production,and larger firms tend to have a greater share in the initial distribution of the data economy.Based on this topological illustration,we propose practical suggestions for measuring the value and contributions of data using mechanisms such as auctions and the Shapley value,and answers questions about the implementation and entities associated with the distribution of benefits from data.This provides not only academic support but also theoretical basis for relevant institutions and policies in the development of the data market.