云基础设施的经济学：商品化数据市场中的成本、风险和比较优势

The Economics of Cloud Infrastructure Cost, Risk, and Comparative Advantagein a Commoditized Data Market Luciano Charlita de FreitasMichel KerfPriscila Honório EvangelistaJulian NajlesLuiz Alberto EstevesLuis Alberto Andrés Policy Research Working Paper11391 Abstract The global data processing and storage industry is undergoinga structural transformation as cloud computing shifts froma differentiated, firm‑specific service toward a standardizedand increasingly commoditized global market. Internationaltrade theory—specifically the Heckscher‑Ohlin factorproportions framework—is applied to analyze emergingpatterns of specialization and comparative advantage in theprovision of cloud services. Cloud output is conceptualizedas a standardized data processing unit, produced under con‑stant returns to scale using a globally uniform technology.Building on this definition, a conceptual multi‑factor unitcost model is developed that integrates traditional pro‑duction factors—energy, capital and digital infrastructure,and skilled labor—with non‑factor costs distinctive to the digital economy, notably regulatory compliance costs andgeopolitical and environmental risk premia. Comparativeadvantage is determined by the minimization of total struc‑tural data processing unit costs, inclusive of both factorand non‑factor components. This framework explains theobserved concentration of data centers in locations charac‑terized by low‑cost and reliable energy, robust connectivityinfrastructure, deep pools of specialized human capital, andlimited regulatory friction or systemic risk. The analysissuggests that cloud services constitute an emerging frontierof international factor‑endowment trade, where classicalsources of comparative advantage interact closely with insti‑tutional quality, policy choices, and risk conditions to shapeglobal patterns of specialization. The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about developmentissues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry thenames of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely thoseof the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank andits affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent. The Economics of Cloud Infrastructure: Cost, Risk, and Comparative Advantage in aCommoditized Data Market Luciano Charlita de Freitas, Michel Kerf, Priscila Honório Evangelista, Julian Najles,Luiz Alberto Esteves, Luis Alberto Andrés JEL Classification:Empirical Studies of Trade (F14); Information and Internet Services; ComputerSoftware (L86); Technological Change: Choices and Consequences (O33); Industrial Policy; SectoralPlanning Methods (L52); Industrial Policy (O25). Keywords:Data Commoditization, Factor Endowments, Comparative Advantage, Cloud Computing,Digital Economics. 1.Introduction: From Differentiation to Digital Commodity The past decade has witnessed a profound transformation in the architecture of the global data economy.The rapid ascent of hyperscale cloud computing is a paradigmatic phenomenon of this new environment,transforming services that were once tailored to proprietary, on-premises data centers into standardized,modular units of computation and storage, delivered at scale by a handful of dominant providers. This process of technological convergence has resulted in the commoditization of basic data services,wherein price and reliability have supplanted bespoke functionality as the principal determinants of marketcompetition. For non-specialized workloads, metrics such as price-per-gigabyte and price-per-compute-cycle now serve as the primary axes of competitive differentiation, compelling providers to pursue thelowest possible unit cost of production on a global scale. Within this context, the present study conceptualizes data services, such as data centers and cloud, as a“commodity” designated by Data Processing Unit (DPU), produced under conditions of constant returns toscale and utilizing a globally uniform technological framework. The production of DPUs is characterizedby intensive utilization of energy and capital infrastructure—encompassing power, cooling, servers, andfiber connectivity—and skilled labor, including the combination of specialized expertise, advancedcognitive abilities, and the capacity to innovate and adapt to new technologies. Consequently, internationalvariations in the price of energy and the rental cost of infrastructure, as well as the availability of specializedpools of human capital, emerge as the predominant sources of unit cost dispersion. In addition, regulatory compliance costs associated with data governance and localization requi