Self-selected, Redundant Task-matching Isn’t So Bad After All: the Division of Labor of Voluntary Production

Abstract: In very general terms, we may identify two ideal typical divisions of labor: one vertical, the other horizontal. In the vertical, an individual performs every step of the production sequence. In the horizontal, specialization takes over, and an individual performs one step of the production sequence. Thus, horizontal production sees several individuals working together sequentially. In voluntary division of labor (e.g., open source software, scientific research) production is undertaken spontaneously rather than according to fiat. As such, several individuals simultaneously may be working on multiple tasks. This more generally means that voluntary division of labor can simultaneously present both vertical and horizontal division of labor characteristics, implying that there is some redundancy at play. The redundancy is not a shortcoming, however. It engenders economies that have the ability to capitalize on multiple, intersecting knowledge combinatorics. The proposed work will examine the costs and benefits of the redundancy embedded in voluntary production.