Virtual Competition: The Promise and Perils of the Algorithm-Driven Economy

Ezrachi, Ariel; Stucke, Maurice E.

ISBN 10: 0674545478 / ISBN 13: 9780674545472

Edité par Harvard University Press, 2016

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N° de réf. du vendeur U9780674545472

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Titre : Virtual Competition: The Promise and Perils ...

Éditeur : Harvard University Press

Date d'édition : 2016

Reliure : Couverture rigide

Etat : Very Good

Etat de la jaquette : 14350099

Signé : 4/10/2024 4:27:03 PM

Edition : 1712766423.

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Synopsis :

Shoppers with Internet access and a bargain-hunting impulse can find a universe of products at their fingertips. In this thought-provoking expose, Ariel Ezrachi and Maurice Stucke invite us to take a harder look at today's app-assisted paradise of digital shopping. While consumers reap many benefits from online purchasing, the sophisticated algorithms and data-crunching that make browsing so convenient are also changing the nature of market competition, and not always for the better.

Computers colluding is one danger. Although longstanding laws prevent companies from fixing prices, data-driven algorithms can now quickly monitor competitors prices and adjust their own prices accordingly. So what is seemingly beneficial increased price transparency ironically can end up harming consumers. A second danger is behavioural discrimination. Here, companies track and profile consumers to get them to buy goods at the highest price they are willing to pay. The rise of super-platforms and their "frenemy" relationship with independent app developers raises a third danger. By controlling key platforms (such as the operating system of smart phones), data-driven monopolies dictate the flow of personal data and determine who gets to exploit potential buyers.

Virtual Competition raises timely questions. To what extent does the "invisible hand" still hold sway? In markets continually manipulated by bots and algorithms, is competitive pricing an illusion? Can our current laws protect consumers? The changing market reality is already shifting power into the hands of the few. Ezrachi and Stucke explore the resulting risks to competition, our democratic ideals, and our economic and overall well-being.

À propos de l?auteur:

Ariel Ezrachi is Slaughter and May Professor of Competition Law at the University of Oxford.

Maurice E. Stucke is Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee and co-founder of The Konkurrenz Group.