Accession Number:

ADA379100

Title:

Scaffolding the New Web: Standards and Standards Policy for the Digital Economy

Descriptive Note:

Corporate Author:

RAND CORP SANTA MONICA CA

Personal Author(s):

• Libicki, Martin
• Schneider, James
• Frelinger, David R.
• Slomovic, Anna

Report Date:

2000-01-01

Pagination or Media Count:

136.0

Abstract:

With every passing month the digital economy grows stronger and more attractive. Much, perhaps, most of this economy rests upon the Internet and its World Wide Web. They, in turn, rest upon information technology standards. Todays standards appear good enough to see the digital economy through the next few years. But it is unclear how much longer the momentum of such commerce can be sustained absent new standards. Are todays standards processes adequate Where are they taking the industry and where is the industry taking them Is government intervention required to address systemic failures in their development To answer these questions, a RAND Science and Technology Policy research team undertook five case studies covering 1. existing Web standards 2. the extensible markup language, XML 3. digital library standards 4. issues related to payments, property, and privacy 5. evolving electronic commerce value chains.

Descriptors:

• *POLICIES
• *STANDARDS
• *INTERNET
• *ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
• INDUSTRIES
• MANAGEMENT
• ECONOMICS
• CASE STUDIES
• STANDARDIZATION
• REGULATIONS
• INTERVENTION

Subject Categories:

• Computer Systems Management and Standards

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE