Variety-Based Congestion in Online Markets: Evidence from Mobile Apps

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Ershov, Daniel
• 署名单位: University of London; University College London
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-MICROECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7669
• DOI: 10.1257/mic.20200347
• 发表日期: 2024
• 页码: 180-203
• 关键词: product variety; search costs; DESIGN; models

摘要

In many online markets , consumers have to spend time and effort browsing through products. The addition of new products could make other products less visible , creating congestion externalities. Using Android app store data , I take advantage of a natural experiment-a redesign of part of the store-to show evidence of congestion externalities online: more apps in the market directly reduce per app usage / downloads. The natural experiment also increases long -run entry , but a structural demand model that accounts for congestion externalities suggests that 40 percent of consumer variety welfare gains are lost from higher congestion. ( JEL D12, D22, D62, L86 )