Standards as Public, Collective and Private Goods

Standardization, Compatibility, and Innovation

“…Some examples of commodities that might usefully be standardized, but are not, include: video cassette recorders, many au-co parts,.... However, the bulk of standardization seems to be done through voluntary industry committees (see Kindleberger (1983))« This encourages us in our interpretation of standardisation as due mainly to network externalities as felt by producers.…”

Introduction

“…When evaluating the benefits from education, for instance, one quickly runs into the problem of a large range of spillovers, the social benefits of which are not easily captured. Kindleberger (1983) extends Adam Smith's list of public goods as a necessary requirement for free trade with so-called 'elusive "goods"' among which are 'macroeconomic stability, redistribution of national income, the monetary system, and . .…”

Standardising as Governance: The Case of Credit Rating Agencies

“…Economists have primarily been interested in how technical standard setting affects market processes and under which circumstances they have positive or negative effects on competition (e.g. Kindleberger 2000). Political scientists have been interested in technical standardisation because of its crucial influence on technical development and the possibilities this could offer for political influence.…”