This analysis takes as given that improved information and accounting methods are costly. While costs will vary across different types of improved information -- and are by no means always easy to measure -- they are conceptually straightforward to define. Information's costs include the labor and capital costs necessary to acquire, apply, and verify new information. The costs may be associated with a diverse set of activities, including technical R&D, financial analysis, process engineering studies, software development, inventory controls, and supplier surveys. Depending on the way in which information is used, its costs may either be fixed or marginal, one-time or recurring. The.
