On Information Analysis: A Supply and Demand Approach

Academics, analysts, administrators, policy makers and planners in the Asia-Pacific region often do not have adequate access to comprehensive and relevant information on who is doing what research, where, how and with what consequences vis-a-vs the broad social sciences/development objectives. The phenomenal advances in information and communications technology that we have witnessed in the recent past undoubtedly has alleviated the situation to a large extent, but still there are large gaps in our understanding of a rapidly growing need for social sciences information and how that need can be transformed into effective demand. Information is neither free nor perfect or symmetrical. Asymmetry in information can cause serious difficulties in scientific research. In this paper I make an attempt to analyse some theoretical issues on the subject and the framework used is the classical supply-demand approach to information as a differentiated product/service in a supply-led market.