The Economics of Educational Technology

Outline for “Some Simple Economics of Open Source” by Josh Lerner & Jean Tirole (2002)

I. Introduction:

• Reasons for increasing interest in Open Source developments

 

 II. The Nature of Open Source Software

• The beginnings and the development of Open Source programs
• A breakdown of the main contributors to Open Source programs

 

 III. The Origins of Four Programs

• Apache
• Linux
• Perl
• Sendmail

 

 IV. What Does Economic Theory Tell Us About Open Source?

• Examining three key questions:
  • Why people participate in Open Source?
  • Why do they exist in the first place?
  • How do commercial vendors react to this movement?

 

 V. Commercial Software Companies’ Reactions to the Open Source Movement

• An outline of the strategies used by commercial companies
  • emulate incentives of open source
  • mix open and closed source

 

 VI. Four Open Economic Questions About Open Source

• Suggestions on the issues that continue to be posed by open source developments and the implications for future work

 

Jill

Concept map

Jackie