The Experts below are selected from a list of 6447 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Austan Goolsbee - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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does the internet make markets more competitive evidence from the life insurance industry
Journal of Political Economy, 2002Co-Authors: Jeffrey R Brown, Austan GoolsbeeAbstract:The Internet may significantly reduce search costs by enabling price Comparisons on‐line. This paper provides empirical evidence on how Internet Comparison Shopping sites affected the prices of life insurance in the 1990s. With micro data on individual insurance policies and with individual and policy characteristics controlled for, hedonic‐type regressions show that increases in Internet use significantly reduced the price of term life insurance. Further evidence shows that prices did not fall with rising Internet usage in the period before the sites began, nor for insurance types that were not covered on the sites. The results suggest that the growth of the Internet has reduced term life prices by 8–15 percent. The results also show that the initial introduction of the Internet search sites is initially associated with an increase in price dispersion within demographic groups, but as use spreads, the dispersion falls.
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does the internet make markets more competitive evidence from the life insurance industry
Social Science Research Network, 2000Co-Authors: Jeffrey R Brown, Austan GoolsbeeAbstract:The Internet has the potential to significantly reduce search costs by allowing consumers to engage in low-cost price Comparisons online. This paper provides empirical evidence on the impact that the rise of Internet Comparison Shopping sites has had for the prices of life insurance in the 1990s. Using micro data on individual life insurance policies, the results indicate that, controlling for individual and policy characteristics, a 10 percent increase in the share of individuals in a group using the Internet reduces average insurance prices for the group by as much as 5 percent. Further evidence indicates that prices did not fall with rising Internet usage for insurance types that were not covered by the Comparison websites, nor did they in the period before the insurance sites came online. The results suggest that growth of the Internet has reduced term life prices by 8 to 15 percent and increased consumer surplus by $115-215 million per year and perhaps more. The results also show that the initial introduction of the Internet search sites is initially associated with an increase in price dispersion within demographic groups, but as the share of people using the technology rises further, dispersion falls.
Howard Marmorstein - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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market price variation perceived price variation and consumers price search decisions for durable goods
Journal of Consumer Research, 1994Co-Authors: Dhruv Grewal, Howard MarmorsteinAbstract:Previous studies have consistently found that most consumers undertake relatively little prepurchase search for durable goods and do even less price-Comparison Shopping despite the reported importance of price to consumers' purchase decisions. This article proposes and tests two possible explanations for why consumers' willingness to engage in price search does not increase concomitantly with the price variation of durable goods. The first potential explanation, that consumers simply underestimate the market price variation, was not supported. The second possible explanation, which builds upon Weber's law of psychophysics and Thaler's transaction utility theory, was supported. The data indicate that the psychological utility that a consumer derives from saving a fixed amount of money is inversely related to the price of the item. In this case, even if consumers believe that the price variation of more expensive items tends to be greater, their motivation to spend time in price-Comparison Shopping for these items may not increase as much as expected.
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the value of time spent in price Comparison Shopping survey and experimental evidence
Journal of Consumer Research, 1992Co-Authors: Howard Marmorstein, Dhruv Grewal, Raymond P H FisheAbstract:The value that consumers place on time spent in price-Comparison Shopping is central to the economics of information theory and models of consumers' search behavior. Yet few empirical studies have examined consumers' subjective value of time. Building on Gary Becker's work, this article presents two tests of a model of the subjective value of time. In an effort to explain consumers' subjective value of time while they are price-Comparison Shopping, the model introduces perceived enjoyment of Shopping as a new explanatory variable. The findings reveal that respondents incorporate both wage rates and perceived enjoyment of price-Comparison Shopping into their subjective value of time.
Jeffrey R Brown - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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does the internet make markets more competitive evidence from the life insurance industry
Journal of Political Economy, 2002Co-Authors: Jeffrey R Brown, Austan GoolsbeeAbstract:The Internet may significantly reduce search costs by enabling price Comparisons on‐line. This paper provides empirical evidence on how Internet Comparison Shopping sites affected the prices of life insurance in the 1990s. With micro data on individual insurance policies and with individual and policy characteristics controlled for, hedonic‐type regressions show that increases in Internet use significantly reduced the price of term life insurance. Further evidence shows that prices did not fall with rising Internet usage in the period before the sites began, nor for insurance types that were not covered on the sites. The results suggest that the growth of the Internet has reduced term life prices by 8–15 percent. The results also show that the initial introduction of the Internet search sites is initially associated with an increase in price dispersion within demographic groups, but as use spreads, the dispersion falls.
-
does the internet make markets more competitive evidence from the life insurance industry
Social Science Research Network, 2000Co-Authors: Jeffrey R Brown, Austan GoolsbeeAbstract:The Internet has the potential to significantly reduce search costs by allowing consumers to engage in low-cost price Comparisons online. This paper provides empirical evidence on the impact that the rise of Internet Comparison Shopping sites has had for the prices of life insurance in the 1990s. Using micro data on individual life insurance policies, the results indicate that, controlling for individual and policy characteristics, a 10 percent increase in the share of individuals in a group using the Internet reduces average insurance prices for the group by as much as 5 percent. Further evidence indicates that prices did not fall with rising Internet usage for insurance types that were not covered by the Comparison websites, nor did they in the period before the insurance sites came online. The results suggest that growth of the Internet has reduced term life prices by 8 to 15 percent and increased consumer surplus by $115-215 million per year and perhaps more. The results also show that the initial introduction of the Internet search sites is initially associated with an increase in price dispersion within demographic groups, but as the share of people using the technology rises further, dispersion falls.
Dhruv Grewal - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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market price variation perceived price variation and consumers price search decisions for durable goods
Journal of Consumer Research, 1994Co-Authors: Dhruv Grewal, Howard MarmorsteinAbstract:Previous studies have consistently found that most consumers undertake relatively little prepurchase search for durable goods and do even less price-Comparison Shopping despite the reported importance of price to consumers' purchase decisions. This article proposes and tests two possible explanations for why consumers' willingness to engage in price search does not increase concomitantly with the price variation of durable goods. The first potential explanation, that consumers simply underestimate the market price variation, was not supported. The second possible explanation, which builds upon Weber's law of psychophysics and Thaler's transaction utility theory, was supported. The data indicate that the psychological utility that a consumer derives from saving a fixed amount of money is inversely related to the price of the item. In this case, even if consumers believe that the price variation of more expensive items tends to be greater, their motivation to spend time in price-Comparison Shopping for these items may not increase as much as expected.
-
the value of time spent in price Comparison Shopping survey and experimental evidence
Journal of Consumer Research, 1992Co-Authors: Howard Marmorstein, Dhruv Grewal, Raymond P H FisheAbstract:The value that consumers place on time spent in price-Comparison Shopping is central to the economics of information theory and models of consumers' search behavior. Yet few empirical studies have examined consumers' subjective value of time. Building on Gary Becker's work, this article presents two tests of a model of the subjective value of time. In an effort to explain consumers' subjective value of time while they are price-Comparison Shopping, the model introduces perceived enjoyment of Shopping as a new explanatory variable. The findings reveal that respondents incorporate both wage rates and perceived enjoyment of price-Comparison Shopping into their subjective value of time.
Raymond P H Fishe - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the value of time spent in price Comparison Shopping survey and experimental evidence
Journal of Consumer Research, 1992Co-Authors: Howard Marmorstein, Dhruv Grewal, Raymond P H FisheAbstract:The value that consumers place on time spent in price-Comparison Shopping is central to the economics of information theory and models of consumers' search behavior. Yet few empirical studies have examined consumers' subjective value of time. Building on Gary Becker's work, this article presents two tests of a model of the subjective value of time. In an effort to explain consumers' subjective value of time while they are price-Comparison Shopping, the model introduces perceived enjoyment of Shopping as a new explanatory variable. The findings reveal that respondents incorporate both wage rates and perceived enjoyment of price-Comparison Shopping into their subjective value of time.