It is widely believed that vertical integration in an environment without foreclosure, or more generally without any mechanism that restricts competition among firms, raises the welfare of consumers. In this paper we show that this can be overturned in a standard setting. We consider a vertical...

This paper examines the impact of introducing high-speed trains on consumer welfare using South Korean transportation industry data. The model treats the rail company's choice of train schedules as endogenous in order to take the firm's choices of product line into account. I estimate a model of...

With the continuous development and iteration of telecommunication technology, the users' requirements of the quality and service have increased dogmatically. In order to meet the diverse and personalized consumer demands, virtual network operators came into being. In 2013, China officially...

Digital maps and navigation applications are considered an essential tool by 70% of smartphone users. As these apps come predominantly free of charge, their contribution to consumer well-being cannot be captured by the common economic measures, like the GDP. This study demonstrates how the...