Personal data is currently a primary factor of production that tech companies are getting for a price of zero.
April 24, 2026
Original Paper
The Informational Factor of Production and the Systematic Mispricing of Personal Data Inputs
SSRN · 6359238
The Takeaway
Personal data should be treated as a primary factor of production alongside labor and capital, but current accounting ignores it. This omission causes the reported income of tech companies to be systematically overestimated because the cost of the data they consume is zero. When users provide data that reduces uncertainty for a business, they are essentially providing a raw material that fuels informational stock. By failing to price this input, the economy hides a massive transfer of value from individuals to platforms. Recognizing data as a formal economic input would fundamentally change how we calculate national GDP and corporate taxes.
From the abstract
Modern firms increasingly depend on structured observations of economic agents in order to reduce uncertainty and improve decision-making. Transaction histories, behavioral signals, mobility traces, and other forms of personal data allow firms to forecast demand, optimize logistics, personalize services, and allocate resources more efficiently. Despite the central role of these informational inputs in modern production systems, standard economic theory continues to treat capital and labor as the