Exploring digital government initiatives to expand full information product pricing (FIPP) networks in NAFTA

摘要

This poster describes research in progress made by the Research Group on Comparative and Transnational Digital government in North America. The main purpose of this project is to explore the impact of product labeling, information architectures and government-sponsored information policies on the expansion of the market share of organic, fair trade, and eco-friendly products in the NAFTA region. In these alternative markets, price is often complemented with information conveying the conditions under which a product is produced and distributed, which is transmitted through trusting networks or certifiable labels such as "Organic" or "Fair Trade." We call such networks Full Information Product Pricing (FIPP) Networks. The transparency of FIPP networks, enabled by the information technology and associated policy and standards, may have the potential to supplement a compliance-enforcement approach with a more market-based voluntary approach that relies on shifts in producer and consumer behavior tosignificantly expand the share of worker and environmentally friendly products traded. In this paper, we discuss our research focus, research plan, and results from preliminary studies.