This paper investigates whether larger quantities of historical data confer a competitive advantage to firms that offer Internet search. We study how the length of time that search engines retained their server logs affected the apparent accuracy of subsequent searches. Our analysis exploits...

We use a rich dataset of weekly cigarette sales to examine how consumers adapt their behavior before and after excise tax increases --- whether by stockpiling or substituting between quality tiers of a product. We find that stockpiling primarily occurs for low-tier cigarettes. In the short-term,...

This paper measures the role of the diffusion of high-speed Internet on an individual's ability to self-isolate during a global pandemic. We use data that tracks 20 million mobile devices and their movements across physical locations, and whether the mobile devices leave their homes that day. We...

This paper examines the effect of Internet penetration on competition and prices in the market for Yellow Pages advertising. We find that the diffusion of the Internet is associated with a decrease in the number of competitors and average prices for printed advertisements in the long-run....