The principle of net neutrality was adopted by the European Union as a regulation promoting equality among all data packets in the Internet. Considering net neutrality from a purely economic viewpoint, however, the general possibility to prioritize data packets would likely lead to a more efficient use of existing network capacity. This is particularly applicable given the growth in data traffic and ...
The tremendous growth of digital transactions has profoundly affected the way we interact, opening vast opportunities to improve our lives. Consumers have benefited from an unprecedented proliferation of new services and products. At the same time, consumers often must process large amounts of imperfect information regarding the products they purchase and services they use. Even more, for many...
Assortment decisions are key strategic instruments for firms responding to local market conditions. We assess this claim by studying the effect of a national merger between two large Dutch supermarket chains on prices and on the depth as well as composition of assortment. We adopt a difference-in-differences strategy that exploits local variation in the merger’s effects, controlling for selection on ...
Common ownership - where two firms are at least partially owned by the same investor - and its impact on product market outcomes has recently drawn a lot of attention from scholars and practitioners alike. Theoretical and empirical researchsuggests that common ownership can lead to higher prices. This paper focuses on implications for market entry. To estimate the effect of common ownership on entry ...
In diesem Bericht wird ein umfangreicher Datensatz von über sechs Millionen Haushaltsstromtarifen für alle Postleitzahlgebiete Deutschlands analysiert. Die Entwicklung der Einzelhandelsstrompreise zwischen Januar 2007 und August 2014 unterscheidet sich je nach Anbieter und Tarif stark. Während sich die Grundversorgungstarife um rund 50 Prozent verteuert haben, sind die jeweils günstigsten Tarife im ...
Den Verkauf großer Teile der insolventen Airline Air Berlin an Lufthansa kommentiert Tomaso Duso, Leiter der Abteilung Unternehmen und Märkte am DIW Berlin, wie folgt:
The tremendous growth of digital transactions – mainly through online platforms – has profoundly affected the way we interact and has opened vast opportunities to improve our lives. The disruptive impact of this process is driven by one core feature: its ability to reduce inefficiencies. Consumers have benefited from an unprecedented proliferation of new services and products that...