Triplet Embeddings for Demand Estimation

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Magnolfi, Lorenzo; Mcclure, Jonathon; Sorensen, Alan
• 署名单位: University of Wisconsin System; University of Wisconsin Madison; Purdue University System; Purdue University; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-MICROECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7669
• DOI: 10.1257/mic.20220248
• 发表日期: 2025
• 页码: 282-307
• 关键词: MARKET POWER; COMPETITION; models; CHOICE; PRODUCTS; mergers; price

摘要

We propose a method to augment conventional demand estimation approaches with crowd-sourced data on the product space. Our method obtains triplets data (product A is closer to B than it is to C) from an online survey to compute an embedding-i.e., a low-dimensional representation of the latent product space. The embedding can either replace data on observed characteristics in mixed logit models, or provide pairwise product distances to discipline cross-elasticities in log-linear models. We illustrate both approaches by estimating demand for ready-to-eat cereals; the information contained in the embedding leads to more plausible substitution patterns and better fit. (JEL C45, C51, D11, D12, D21, L66)