To make high-quality research more accessible and easier to explore.

Fields:
2 results

Dynamic Demand Estimation in Auction Markets

Review of Economic Studies 2025 92(2), 837-872
We study demand estimation in a large auction market. In our model, a dynamically evolving population of buyers with unit demand and heterogeneous and privately known preferences for a finite set of differentiated products compete in a sequence of auctions that occur in discrete time. We define an empirically tractable equilibrium concept in which bidders behave as though they are competing with the stationary distribution of opposing bids, characterize bidding strategies, and prove existence of equilibrium. Having developed this demand system, we prove that it is non-parametrically identified from panel data. We extend the model to consider a random coefficients demand system akin to workhorse demand models in industrial organization, and show that this too is non-parametrically identified. We apply the model to estimate demand and show how large sellers can exercise market power by using persistent reserve price policies, which induce higher bids and, therefore, revenues. Our analysis highlights the importance of both dynamic bidding strategies and panel data sample selection issues when analysing these markets.

Voluntary Disclosure and Personalized Pricing

Review of Economic Studies 2023 90(2), 538-571 open access
A concern central to the economics of privacy is that firms may use consumer data to price discriminate. A common response is that consumers should have control over their data and the ability to choose how firms access it. Since firms draw inferences based on both the data seen as well as the consumer's disclosure choices, the strategic implications of this proposal are unclear. We investigate whether such measures improve consumer welfare in monopolistic and competitive environments. We find that consumer control can guarantee gains for every consumer type relative to both perfect price discrimination and no personalized pricing. This result is driven by two ideas. First, consumers can use disclosure to amplify competition between firms. Second, consumers can share information that induces a seller---even a monopolist---to make price concessions. Furthermore, whether consumer control improves consumer surplus depends on both the technology of disclosure and the competitiveness of the marketplace. In a competitive market, simple disclosure technologies such as "track / do-not-track'' suffice for guaranteeing gains in consumer welfare. However, in a monopolistic market, welfare gains require richer forms of disclosure technology whereby consumers can decide how much information they would like to convey.