Traditional models of consumer choice assume consumers are aware of all products for sale.This assumption is questionable, especially when applied to markets characterized by a high degree of change, such as the personal computer (PC) industry. I present an empirical discrete-choice model of...

We analyze a model of repeated bilateral trade with moral hazard, where the quality of goods received can differ from the quality despatched due to deterioration during transportation. Since the sender does not observe the quality of good received and the receiver does not observe the quality...

We use store-level data to document the exact process of changing prices and to directly measure menu costs at five multi-store supermarket chains. We show that changing prices in these establishments is a complex process, requiring dozens of steps and a nontrivial amount of resources. The menu...

We combine two data sets to study price rigidity. The first consists of weekly time series of retail, wholesale, and spot prices for twelve products. These time series contain two exogenous cost shocks. We find that prices exhibit more rigidity in response to the second shock than the first. The...

Many emerging or transition economies lack institutional arrangements (like ISO certification) to credibly signal product quality. The absence of such institutions leads to low levels of market activity with poor quality products on sale. In this paper, we use a dynamic framework with asymmetric...

We empirically study the price adjustment process at multiproduct retail stores. We use a unique store level data set for five large supermarket and one drugstore chains in the U.S., to document the exact process required to change prices. Our data set allows us to study this process in great...

We model a two periods market with two-sided quality uncertainty. In the first period the seller gathers information about consumers' tastes upon observing his sales. In the second period the seller may or may not deliver the information. If the monopolist must commit either to reveal or conceal...

This paper aims to make a public statement about the strategy implemented by Microsoft in order to reinforce its market power across the networked users of Windows Operative System, and Xbox Games Console. It is presented an economic view that supports the anticipating (not predatory) position...

The economics of information goods suggest the need for institutional intervention to address the problem of revenue extraction from investments in resources characterized by high fixed costs of production and low marginal costs of reproduction and distribution. Solutions to the appropriation...

This paper constructs an equilibrium model of entrepreneurial innovation where individuals differ in their attitude toward uncertainty. Unlike previous models of innovation, the firm-formation process is endogenous. An entrepreneur, who owns residual profits, utilizes an uncertain technology and...