Some Economic Consequences of the GDPR

Allen DWE, Berg A, Berg C, Markey-Towler B and Potts J (2019) ‘Some Economic Consequences of the GDPR’, Economics Bulletin, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 785-797.

14 Pages Posted: 29 Apr 2018 Last revised: 18 May 2020

See all articles by Darcy W E Allen

Darcy W E Allen

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technolog (RMIT University)

Alastair Berg

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technolog (RMIT University)

Chris Berg

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technolog (RMIT University)

Brendan Markey‐Towler

Evidn

Jason Potts

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technolog (RMIT University)

Date Written: March 29, 2019

Abstract

The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a wide ranging personal data protection regime of greater magnitude than any similar regulation previously in the EU, or elsewhere. In this paper, we outline how the GDPR impacts the value of data held by data collectors before proposing some potential unintended consequences. Given the distortions of the GDPR on data value, we propose that new complex financial products—essentially new data insurance markets—will emerge, potentially leading to further systematic risks. Finally we examine how market-driven solutions to the data property rights problems the GDPR seeks to solve—particularly using blockchain technology as economic infrastructure for data rights—might be less distortionary.

Keywords: Data Markets, Information Economics, Regulation, Financial Innovation, Blockchain

JEL Classification: D02, D52, D80, F61, K24, L5

Suggested Citation

Allen, Darcy W E and Berg, Alastair and Berg, Chris and Markey‐Towler, Brendan and Potts, Jason, Some Economic Consequences of the GDPR (March 29, 2019). Allen DWE, Berg A, Berg C, Markey-Towler B and Potts J (2019) ‘Some Economic Consequences of the GDPR’, Economics Bulletin, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 785-797., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3160404 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3160404

Darcy W E Allen

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technolog (RMIT University) ( email )

Melbourne, 3000
Australia

Alastair Berg (Contact Author)

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technolog (RMIT University) ( email )

124 La Trobe Street
Melbourne, 3000
Australia

Chris Berg

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technolog (RMIT University) ( email )

124 La Trobe Street
Melbourne, 3000
Australia

Brendan Markey‐Towler

Evidn ( email )

Australia

Jason Potts

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technolog (RMIT University) ( email )

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