Business models for public goods

Umair Haque's post on 5 problems that needed radical innovators is a killer. While I am excited about the opportunities it raised, I am also frustrated by my lack of imagination in thinking about potential solutions that can form the basis for a startup.

So, I am researching intensely on each of the 5 problems listed. I hope to share my research notes here in hope to stimulate further discussions that can hopefully shed more light. Today's post will focus on the challenge of inventing business models for public good. This is a serious challenge in particular for the digital media industry as all digital good are public by nature. (To understand why digital goods are public goods, check out this 2005 essay by Umair Haque on new strategies for property rights)

Notes:
Markets solve public goods and externalities problems in a variety of ways

This is a good article by Tyler Cowen that says markets have already found several ways which to solve public goods problem. It is a good beginning as it shows how others have solve this problem before. However, it is by no means a silver bullet as most of the ideas might not be applicable for digital goods.

Why Amazon's affiliate program can be a business model for public goods

The second parter to Umair Haque's property rights essay hints at possible solutions. His cliff hanger at the end of the essay provides plenty of room for thought:


In the future, more sophisticated schemes might expand the pie and add value to property rights in a multitude of different ways. For example, innovative licenses might pay dividends, might be options with expiration dates and strike prices, might offer structured, locked-in benefits via frequent-flyer program like subsidies

Learning from taxation to derive business models for public goods

digital information intended for publication is a perfect public good, and therefore the production of digital information for publication should be funded out of taxation.


I am only beginning to scratch the surface in exploring business models for public goods. If you have examples, case studies, papers, experiences to share, do drop a note.

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