Quantifying the benefits of entry into local phone service

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Economides, Nicholas; Seim, Katja; Viard, V. Brian
• 署名单位: New York University; University of Pennsylvania
• 刊物名称: RAND JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0741-6261
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1756-2171.2008.00035.x
• 发表日期: 2008
• 页码: 699-730
• 关键词: discrete continuous models; telephone service; consumer demand; choice models; differentiation; patterns

摘要

Local telecommunications competition was an important goal of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. We evaluate the consumer welfare effects of entry into residential local telephone service in New York State using household-level data from September 1999 to March 2003. We address the prevalence of nonlinear tariffs by developing a discrete/continuous demand model that allows for service bundling and unobservable provider quality. We find that the average subscriber to the entrants' services gains a monthly equivalent of $2.33, or 6.2% of her bill, in welfare from competition. These gains accrue primarily from firm differentiation and new plan introductions rather than from price effects.