We empirically investigate the effect of the Internet on racial hate crimes in the United States from the period 2001–2008. We find evidence that, on average, broadband availability increases racial hate crimes. We also document that the Internet's impact on these hate crimes is not uniform in...

Online platforms offer access to a larger social group than is generally available through offline contacts, making the internet an emerging venue for seeking casual sex partners. The ease of seeking sex partners through classified ad sites may promote risky behaviors that increase transmission...

The Internet facilitates information flow between sex workers and buyers, making it easier to set up paid sexual transactions online. Despite the illegality of selling sexual services online, Section 230 of Communications Decency Act shields websites from liability for unlawful postings by third...

Online platforms offer access to a larger social group than is generally available through offline contacts, making the internet an emerging venue for seeking casual sex partners. The ease of seeking sex partners through classified ad sites may promote risky behaviors that increase transmission...

Nineteen states enacted state wiretapping legislations in 2002, following the 9/11 terror attacks, the provisions of which mirror those in the U.S. PATRIOT Act that loosened the restrictions on wiretap surveillance. Using data digitized from U.S. Courts’ Wiretap Reports, we estimate the...

With increasing ecommerce penetration, it is believed that consumers are spending more shopping time online and away from physical stores. This brings to question the role of physical stores in an increasingly digitized landscape and whether they remain relevant. The measurement of the impact of...

The introduction of tablets in online retailing has created an additional touch point through which e-commerce firms can interact with consumers. In this paper, we seek to understand and measure the causal impact of tablets on e-commerce sales. In doing so, we examine the complementary and...

The most commonly cited issues with mobile apps are low user engagement and retention levels. In this paper, we explore the efficacy of crowdsourcing features on enhancing user engagement and retention in the context of mobile gaming apps. To do so, we examine two specific crowdsourcing...