Research on “modularity” has made an important contribution to the study of technical change and economic institutions. It demonstrates that progress in the division of labor in design (technical modularity) has created new opportunities for the organization of firms beyond vertical...

In this thesis, I have examined whether the current approach to competition policy is suitable for the distinct characteristics of the digital economy. It is particularly difficult to define the relevant market and rely on market share test as a proxy for market power in the digital economy...

Using the data on 238 cartelized markets we evaluate econometrically the impact of cartel characteristics as well the market and legal environment of cartel operation on cartel stability. The latter is measured as the expected number of repeated attempts to form a cartel in the same product...

This paper proposes a semi-parametric method to uncover the distribution of bidders' private information in the market for highway procurement when unobserved auction heterogeneity is present. I derive sufficient conditions under which the model is identified and show that the estimation...

Using data on registered nurses and nursing assistants in 50 acute-care hospital units, the author explores the relationships among high performance work systems, information quality, and performance quality within a context shaped by equivocal information - information that can be interpreted...

Filing of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University to the Federal Trade Commission for the FTC's June 9, 2015 workshop on "The “Sharing” Economy: Issues Facing Platforms, Participants, and Regulators." The Mercatus Center at George Mason University is dedicated to advancing knowledge...

This paper argues that the sharing economy — through the use of the Internet and real time reputational feedback mechanisms — is providing a solution to the “lemons problem” that many regulations, and regulators, have spent decades attempting to overcome. Section I provides an overview...

The rise of the sharing economy has changed how many Americans commute, shop, vacation, and borrow. It has also disrupted long-established industries, from taxis to hotels, and has confounded policymakers. In particular, regulators are trying to determine how to apply many of the traditional...

[Note: the substantially revised published version of this article is available at www.ssrn.com/absract=489762] This article questions whether copyright law's prohibition against unauthorized copying and sales is either necessary or beneficial to the production and dissemination of creative...

Multi-sided platforms (MSPs), which bring together two or more interdependent groups of customers, have recently risen to economic and business prominence in many industries. This paper first lays out a simple micro-founded framework which aims to organize academic and managerial thinking about...