000 03465cam a2200313 i 4500
001 19099152
003 APU
005 20170320115931.0
008 160511s2016 maua b 001 0 eng c
010 _a 2016018188
020 _a9780674545472 (hbk.)
040 _aMH/DLC
_beng
_cAPU
_dWAN
042 _apcc
050 0 0 _aHF5548.32
_b.E97 2016
082 0 0 _a381/.142
_223
100 1 _aEzrachi, A.
_936406
245 1 0 _aVirtual competition :
_bthe promise and perils of the algorithm-driven economy /
_cAriel Ezrachi, Maurice E. Stucke.
260 _aCambridge, Massachusetts :
_bHarvard University Press,
_c2016
300 _aviii, 356 p. :
_bill. ;
_c25 cm
504 _aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
505 0 _aPart I. Setting the scene: The promise of a better competitive environment -- New economic reality: the rise of big data and big analytics -- Light touch antitrust -- Looking beyond the facade of competition -- Part II. The collusion scenarios: The messenger scenario -- Hub and spoke -- Tacit collusion on steroids: the predictable agent -- Artificial intelligence -- Part III. Behavioral discrimination: Price discrimination explained -- The age of perfect price discrimination? -- The rise of "almost perfect" behavioral discrimination -- Behavioral discrimination: economic and social perspectives -- The comparison intermediaries -- Part IV. Frenemies: The dynamic interplay among "frenemies" -- Extraction and capture -- "Why invite a arsonist to your home?": understanding the "frenemy" mentality -- Part V. Intervention: To regulate or not to regulate -- The enforcement toolbox.
520 _aIn this book Ariel Ezrachi and Maurice Stucke take a hard look at today's app-assisted digital shopping. While consumers reap many benefits from online purchasing, the sophisticated algorithms and data crunching that make browsing so convenient are also changing the nature of market competition, and not always for the better. Computers colluding is one danger. Although longstanding laws prevent companies from fixing prices, data-driven algorithms can now quickly monitor competitors' prices and adjust their own prices accordingly. So what is seemingly beneficial--increased price transparency--ironically can end up harming consumers. A second danger is behavioral discrimination. Here, companies track and profile consumers to get them to buy goods at the highest price they are willing to pay. The rise of superplatforms and their "frenemy" relationship with independent app developers raises a third danger. By controlling key platforms (such as the operating system of smart phones), data-driven monopolies dictate the flow of personal data and determine who gets to exploit potential buyers. The book raises timely questions. To what extent does the "invisible hand" still hold sway? In markets continually manipulated by bots and algorithms, is competitive pricing an illusion? Can our current laws protect consumers? The changing market reality is already shifting power into the hands of the few. Ezrachi and Stucke explore the resulting risks to competition, our democratic ideals, and our economic and overall well-being.--
650 0 _aElectronic commerce.
_9684
650 0 _aPricing
_xTechnological innovations.
_936407
700 1 _aStucke, Maurice E.
_936408
906 _a7
_bcbc
_corignew
_d1
_eecip
_f20
_gy-gencatlg
942 _2lcc
_cBook
999 _c380333
_d380333