Clicks, Discontinuities, and Firm Demand Online

Michael Baye, J. Rupert J. Gatti, Paul Kattuman and John Morgan
Additional contact information
J. Rupert J. Gatti: University of Cambridge
Paul Kattuman: University of Cambridge

No 2006-21, Working Papers from Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, Department of Business Economics and Public Policy

Abstract: The market values of online platforms, such as Yahoo, stem from their ability to monetize the clicks they generate for firms advertising on their sites. We exploit a unique dataset on clicks from one of Yahoo's price comparison sites to estimate the determinants of clicks received by online retailers. We find that a firm enjoys a 60% jump in its clicks when it offers the lowest price at the site. This discontinuity is consistent with a variety of models that have been used to rationalize the price dispersion observed in online markets. We also show that one may use estimates of the determinants of a firm's clicks to obtain bounds on its underlying demand parameters, including own- and cross-price elasticities. Our results have potentially significant ramifications for online retailers, platforms, and policymakers: Failure to account for discontinuities distorts parameter estimates by 50 to 100 percent.

JEL-codes: D4 D8 L14 M3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mic
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http://kelley.iu.edu/riharbau/RePEc/iuk/wpaper/bep ... -kattuman-morgan.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Clicks, Discontinuities, and Firm Demand Online (2009)
Working Paper: Clicks, Discontinuities, and Firm Demand Online (2006)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iuk:wpaper:2005-21

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