IARIW – CIGI Conference on “The Valuation of Data”

The International Association for Research in Income and Wealth (IARIW), and the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) collaborated on the organization of an International conference on the valuation of data, which took place in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada on November 2-3, 2023. 

There is a growing need to be able to value data, to both encourage data investment and use and to understand the impact of data on the economy, enabling productive and socially valuable uses. However, there remain relatively few robust empirical approaches, and certainly no consensus about which to apply for different purposes. Existing valuation methodologies for data all have drawbacks.

There is both a need and an opportunity to further develop methodologies able to empirically capture the economically valuable characteristics of data, both the private value and – for policy purposes – the wider social value. Against this background, this conference will address a wide range of topics covering methodology, applications, regulations, and policies needed to unleash the value of data.

Carolina Rossini, who is part of their Scientific Council, having reviewed paper submissions, offered her views on the paper “Data Valuation for Knowledge Sharing and Decision Making“, and participated in a policy panel to discuss value distribution.