With the industrial society evolving into an information-based society, the concept of information as a product, a commodity with its own value, has emerged. As a consequence, those people, organizations, and countries that possess the highest-quality information are likely to prosper economically, socially, and politically. Investigations into the economics of information encompass a variety of categories including the costs of information and information services; the effects of information on decision making; the savings from effective information acquisition; the effects of information on productivity; and the effects of specific agencies (such as corporate, technical, or medical libraries) on the productivity of organizations. Obviously many of these areas overlap, but it is clear that information has taken on a life of its own outside the medium in which it is contained. Information has become a recognized entity to be measured, evaluated, and priced.

* entity: 실재(물)