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The Economics of Peer-To-Peer Networks
journal contribution
posted on 2006-06-01, 00:00 authored by Ramayya KrishnanRamayya Krishnan, Michael SmithMichael Smith, Rahul TelangRahul TelangPeer-to-Peer (P2P) networks have emerged as a popular alternative to traditional client-server
architectures for the distribution of information goods. While there is a great deal of research on
these networks in the computer science literature, until recently there has been little academic
research considering the salient economic characteristics of these networks. In this paper, we
outline some important economic characteristics of these networks. We show that while the
characteristics of services provided over P2P networks are similar to public goods and club
goods, they have many important differences and hence there is a need for new theoretical
models as well as empirical and experimental analysis to understand user behavior. We then
identify several important areas for study with regard to the economics of P2P networks and
review recent academic papers in each area.