WikiCred/2022 CFP/Wikipedia Price Adjustment Tool
- Note: Due to a technical issue with the application portal, this application was originally submitted by the applicant a doc or PDF; this page was generated on behalf of the applicant by a member of the WikiCred team.
| Wikipedia Price Adjustment Tool | |
|---|---|
| A WikiCred 2022 Grant Proposal | |
| Project Type | Technology |
| Author | (BabatundeOnabajo) |
| Contact | Babatunde.onabajo@churchmapped.com |
| Requested amount | $5,000 |
| Award amount | Unknown |
- What is your idea?
Wikipedia Price Adjustment Tool is a browser extension that will be available on major internet browsers (e.g. Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, etc) that automatically updates all prices and price-related information (such as wages) into current prices. The problem with many Wikipedia pages currently is that prices are typically reported on a “nominal”, that is inflation being excluded, as opposed to “real” basis. This is problematic because it can be misleading for readers, who may assume that prices reported on a particular Wikipedia page correspond to prices that they experience for the year in which that article is read. This is not true however: $100 in 1970 is not the same as $100 in 2022, due to inflation, which is the phenomenon described as the sustained increase in the general price level over a period of time. This browser extension takes into account the inflation rate and then amends the price reported on the Wikipedia page so that it is more reflective of reality. The browser extension also accounts for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) where necessary.
- Why is it important?
“Money makes the world go round” is an expression that many of us are familiar with, and as argued by many economists (such as Friedrich Hayek), prices are important conveyors of information because they indicate allocations of a particular resource. Prices govern everything from wages through to housing costs through to government expenditure. The problem with many Wikipedia pages is that they report prices on a nominal rather than real basis. This can be misleading to the average user because people have a tendency to forget the impact of inflation, a phenomenon known in economic circles as “money illusion”. This makes Wikipedia pages misleading as far as prices are concerned. In the context of international trade, too, $100 in New York is not the same as $100 in Mumbai; to account for this, economists use Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) to help adjust for this. The problem with Wikipedia articles (at least for the English edition of Wikipedia, the most read version) is that due to the preponderance of editors from the US, prices are reported in a sense that makes most sense to readers from the US as opposed to other parts of the world; the differences can be particularly striking in the context of the US versus the developing world. This represents a form of inadvertent bias and distances Wikipedia English from other parts of the world.
- Link(s) to your resume or anything else (CV, GitHub, etc.) that may be relevant
- Github: https://github.com/BabatundeOnabajo
- NASA (Subject Matter Expert on Open Software): https://github.com/nasa/Transform-to-Open-Science/blob/main/docs/Area2_Capacity_Sharing/OpenCore/OpenCore_leads.md
Media:
- Observatoire de la Finance/CFA Institute: https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/about/press-releases/2020/cfa-institute-joins-launch-celebrating-opening-of-8th-global-ethics-and-trust-in-finance-prize
- Institute of Business Ethics (IBE):https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/52382-the-ethics-of-airbrushing
- The Huffington Post: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-third-metric-brings-neoclassical-economics_b_3392198
- Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF): https://asef.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ASEFSU23_Participants_Booklet.pdf
- CityAM: https://www.cityam.com/warwick-business-students-give-london-learners-a-run-for-their-money-at-swifts-institute-challenge/
- The SWIFT Institute: https://swiftinstitute.org/news/media-advisory-swift-shortlists-seven-student-teams-to-compete-in-the-2016-swift-institute-challenge/
- Is your project already in progress?
No
- How is this project relevant to credibility and Wikipedia?
Prices are an important conveyor of information. From prices, we know about the relative scarcities of goods and services. In the same way Wikipedia arose through a phenomenon known as “spontaneous order”, excellently articulated by the economist Friedrich Hayek and endorsed by Wikimedia Founder Jimmy Wales (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia), prices arise from people organising spontaneously in a free manner. However, the problem with Wikipedia currently is that many prices that are reported are outdated as they don’t account for inflation, which makes reported prices misleading. Furthermore, prices of goods/services don’t account for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), a measure that economists use to account for different costs/foreign exchange differences throughout the world. This browser extension helps to make Wikipedia articles more credible by account for
inflation as well as local circumstances so that prices – which permeate virtually every aspect of our lives – are reported in a way that is actually accurate and not misleading.
- What is the ultimate impact of this project?
The ultimate impact of this project is to make prices and price-related information more accurate on Wikipedia, which is one of the world’s most visited websites. To put the impact into perspective, it would be like Amazon listing the prices of goods and services sold on its website from the year 1970. This would of course be misleading, and it is similarly hoped that this browser extension assists in conveying accurate and credible information.
- Can your project scale?
Yes, this project can scale as browser extensions are very easy to install in a browser.
- Why are you the people to do it?
I come from an economics background, having graduated from both Cardiff University as well as King's College London with an understanding in quantitative methods and how inflation affects prices. Furthermore, I represented the United Kingdom together with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) at the United Nations' Big Data Hackathon (Big Data Expert track). Therefore, I'm particularly equipped to deal with this project.
- What is the impact of your idea on diversity and inclusiveness of the Wikimedia movement?
The impact of this project on diversity and inclusiveness is that it incorporates people from different generations as well as people from different cultures, by accounting for prices in the context which they are most familiar with.The impact of this project on diversity and inclusiveness is that it incorporates people from different generations as well as people from different cultures, by accounting for prices in the context which they are most familiar with.
- What are the challenges associated with this project and how you will overcome them?
A potential challenge with this project is being truly accessible. Browser extensions work through JavaScript, and there is a possibility that a segment of the audience of Wikipedia have JavaScript disabled, which means the browser extension will face a significant hurdle in working. Another potential challenge with this project is working for all currencies: whilst data regarding inflation is publicly available for countries such as the United States, it's entirely possible that it is not as visible for some other countries. One way I envisage getting around this is to try to contact the statistical agency of the country in question directly, or otherwise contacting an NGO such as the World Bank or IMF.
- How will you spend your funds?
The funds will be spent to account for time dedicated to code the extension and to test it. Furthermore, the funds will be spent to fund for internet cost as well as software costs (in particular, Adobe Creative Cloud).
- How long will your project take?
This project will take approximately 4 months to create.
- Have you worked on projects for previous grants before?
- Asia-Europe Foundation: https://asef.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ASEFSU23_Participants_Booklet.pdf