Abstract This paper analyzes the effects of direct interconnection agreements in the Internet backbone on content quality investment for content providers (CPs). The model assumes that when the Internet service provider (ISP) has a vertical affiliation with one CP, the ISP directly interconnects...

We study a Hotelling framework in which customers first pay a monopoly platform to enter the market before deciding between two competing services on opposite ends of a Hotelling line. This setup is common when modeling competition in Internet content provision. We find that standard...

Decentralized blockchain-based transactions benefit users through their openness, transparency, and immutability, which may come at the expense of privacy concerns. This paper shows that if there is a dilemma between decentralization and privacy protection, such that a more decentralized system...

This paper analyzes how data-driven vertical integration between a platform and one downstream seller affects market outcomes in a two-sided market where sellers with asymmetric targeting skills target advertisements to individuals who have varying privacy concerns. I show that data-driven...

This paper analyzes the effects of direct interconnection agreements in the Internet backbone on content quality investment for content providers (CPs). The model assumes that when the Internet service provider (ISP) has a vertical affiliation with one CP, the ISP directly interconnects the...

We analyze the welfare effects of price discrimination by a monopolistic platform that mediates between two sides of a market. Discrimination is based on asymmetric costs on one side of the market and may be allowed on either or both sides. We show that unconstrained discrimination on both sides...