Working Paper: NBER ID: w10956
Authors: Josh Lerner; Jean Tirole
Abstract: This paper reviews our understanding of the growing open source movement. We highlight how many aspects of open source software appear initially puzzling to an economist. As we have acknowledge, our ability to answer confidently many of the issues raised here questions is likely to increase as the open source movement itself grows and evolves. At the same time, it is heartening to us how much of open source activities can be understood within existing economic frameworks, despite the presence of claims to the contrary. The labor and industrial organization literatures provide lenses through which the structure of open source projects, the role of contributors, and the movement's ongoing evolution can be viewed.
Keywords: Open Source; Technology Sharing; Economic Implications
JEL Codes: L8; O3
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Open source model (L17) | Increased software quality (L15) |
| Visibility of contributions (D64) | Signal skills to employers (J24) |
| Open source availability (L17) | Market dynamics (D49) |
| Open source projects (L17) | Improved social welfare (D69) |
| Challenges like free-riding (H40) | Negative impact on innovation in proprietary sector (O36) |
| Unpaid contributions to open source projects (L17) | Better employment opportunities (J68) |
| Unpaid contributions to open source projects (L17) | Higher wages (J39) |
| Higher rank in the Apache project (D73) | Higher wages (J39) |