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作者：Koulayev, Sergei
摘要：When consumers search for differentiated products, a given search decision can be explained either by low search cost or by low tastes for the set of products already found. We propose an identification strategy that allows to estimate the search cost distribution in the presence of unobserved tastes. The required data takes the form of conditional search decisions: observations of search actions combined with previously observed product displays. We develop an application using clickstream da...
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作者：McDevitt, Ryan C.; Roberts, James W.
作者单位：Duke University; National Bureau of Economic Research
摘要：We consider the relationship between market structure and health outcomes in a setting where patients have stark preferences: urology patients disproportionately match with a urologist of the same gender. In the United States, however, fewer than 6% of urologists are women despite women constituting 30% of patients. We explain a portion of this disparity with a model of imperfect competition in which urology groups strategically differentiate themselves by employing female urologists. These st...
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作者：Jin, Ginger Zhe; Lee, Jungmin
作者单位：University System of Maryland; University of Maryland College Park; National Bureau of Economic Research; Sogang University
摘要：In this article, we show that a small innovation in inspection technology can make substantial differences in inspection outcomes. For restaurant hygiene inspections, the state of Florida has introduced a handheld electronic device, the portable digital assistant (PDA), which reminds inspectors of about 1,000 potential violations that may be checked for. Using inspection records from July 2003 to June 2009, we find that the adoption of PDA led to 11% more detected violations and subsequently, ...
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作者：Copeland, Adam
作者单位：Federal Reserve System - USA; Federal Reserve Bank - New York
摘要：This article presents a dynamic demand model for motor vehicles. This approach accounts for the change in the mix of consumers over the model year and measures consumers' substitution patterns across products and time. I find intertemporal substitution is significant; consumers are more likely to change the timing of their purchase in reaction to a price increase rather than buy another vehicle in the same period. Further, I find automakers' use of large cash-back rebates at the end of the mod...
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作者：Georgiadis, George; Lippman, Steven A.; Tang, Christopher S.
作者单位：California Institute of Technology; Boston University; University of California System; University of California Los Angeles
摘要：We study the interaction between a group of agents who exert effort to complete a project and a manager who chooses its objectives. The manager has limited commitment power so that she can commit to the objectives only when the project is sufficiently close to completion. We show that the manager has incentives to extend the project as it progresses. This result has two implications. First, the manager will choose a larger project if she has less commitment power. Second, the manager should de...
