We examine the impact to date of the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to reduce interchange fees on credit cards in Australia by almost half. We find that, in the short run, issuers have recovered between 30 and 40 percent of the loss of interchange fees. Merchants have benefited from lower...

The Displaced Worker Survey of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics understates the number of workers displaced over the preceding five years covered by the survey by approximately one-third. The bias results from the fact that respondents' memory of displacement erodes over time. Memory loss is...

Internet-based technologies are revolutionizing the stodgy $625 billion global advertising industry. There are a number of public policy issues to consider. Will a single ad platform emerge or will several remain viable? What are the consequences of alternative market structures for a web...

Software platforms are the invisible engines that have created, touched, or transformed nearly every major industry for the past quarter century. They power everything from mobile phones and automobile navigation systems to search engines and web portals. They have been the source of enormous...

Software platforms are a critical component of the computer systems underpinning leading-edge products ranging from third-generation mobile phones to video games. After describing some key economic features of computer systems and software platforms, the paper presents case studies of personal...

We model competitive bundling and tying, allowing for marginal cost savings from bundling, fixed costs of product offerings, and variation in customer preferences. Pure bundling can arise either because few people demand only one component or because, with high fixed costs, a single product...