Limited information and advertising in the US personal computer industry

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Goeree, Michelle Sovinsky
• 署名单位: University of Southern California; Claremont Colleges; Claremont McKenna College; Claremont Graduate University
• 刊物名称: ECONOMETRICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0012-9682
• DOI: 10.3982/ECTA4158
• 发表日期: 2008
• 页码: 1017-1074
• 关键词: discrete-choice models; differentiated products; consideration set; monte-carlo; demand; tests; price; uncertainty; simulation

摘要

Traditional discrete-choice models assume buyers are aware of all products for sale. In markets where products change rapidly, the full information assumption is untenable. I present a discrete-choice model of limited consumer information, where advertising influences the set of products from which consumers choose to purchase. I apply the model to the U.S. personal computer market where top firms spend over $2 billion annually on advertising. I find estimated markups of 19% over production costs, where top firms advertise more than average and earn higher than average markups. High markups are explained to a large extent by informational asymmetries across consumers, where full information models predict markups of one-fourth the magnitude. I find that estimated product demand curves are biased toward being too elastic under traditional models. I show how to use data on media exposure to improve estimated price elasticities in the absence of micro ad data.