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Unobserved Product Differentiation in Discrete-Choice Models: Estimating Price Elasticities and Welfare Effects

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Author Info
Daniel A. Ackerberg () (University of California at Los Angeles)
Marc Rysman () (Boston University)

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Abstract

Commonly used discrete-choice models such as logit, nested logit, and random-coefficients models place very strong restrictions on how unobservable characteristic space changes with the number of products. We argue (and show with Monte Carlo experiments)that these restrictions can lead to biased estimates of price elasticities and the welfare consequences from additional products. In addition, these restrictions can identify parameters that are not intuitively identified given the data at hand. We suggest an alternative model that does not have these properties and present a structural interpretation of the model. Monte Carlo experiments and an empirical example show that this issue can be important in practice. Ordering information: This article can be ordered from https://pubs3.rand.org/cgi-bin/rje/pdf.cgi.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by The RAND Corporation in its journal RAND Journal of Economics.

Volume (Year): 36 (2005)
Issue (Month): 4 (Winter)
Pages: 771-788
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Handle: RePEc:rje:randje:v:36:y:2005:4:p:771-788

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Benkard, C. Lanier & Bajari, Patrick, 2001. "Demand Estimation with Heterogeneous Consumers and Unobserved Product Characteristics: A Hedonic Approach," Research Papers 1691, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business. [Downloadable!]
  2. Marc Rysman, 2004. "Competition Between Networks: A Study of the Market for Yellow Pages," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 71(2), pages 483-512, 04. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Steven Berry & Joel Waldfogel, 1996. "Free Entry and Social Inefficiency in Radio Broadcasting," NBER Working Papers 5528, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Nevo, Aviv, 2001. "Measuring Market Power in the Ready-to-Eat Cereal Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 69(2), pages 307-42, March.
    Other versions:
  5. Steven T. Berry, 1994. "Estimating Discrete-Choice Models of Product Differentiation," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 25(2), pages 242-262, Summer. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Patrick Bajari & C. Lanier Benkard, 2001. "Demand Estimation With Heterogeneous Consumers and Unobserved Product Characteristics: A Hedonic Approach," Working Papers 01010, Stanford University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  7. Patrick Bajari & C. Lanier Benkard, 2001. "Demand Estimation With Heterogeneous Consumers and Unobserved Product Characteristics: A Hedonic Approach," NBER Technical Working Papers 0272, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Berry, Steven & Levinsohn, James & Pakes, Ariel, 1995. "Automobile Prices in Market Equilibrium," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 63(4), pages 841-90, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Feenstra, Robert C & Levinsohn, James A, 1995. "Estimating Markups and Market Conduct with Multidimensional Product Attributes," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 62(1), pages 19-52, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Benkard, C. Lanier & Bajari, Patrick, 2001. "Discrete Choice Models as Structural Models of Demand: Some Economic Implications of Common Approaches," Research Papers 1710, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business. [Downloadable!]
  2. Steven Tenn, 2006. "Avoiding aggregation bias in demand estimation: A multivariate promotional disaggregation approach," Quantitative Marketing and Economics, Springer, vol. 4(4), pages 383-405, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Susan Athey & Guido Imbens, 2006. "Discrete Choice Models with Multiple Unobserved Choice Characteristics," Levine's Bibliography 122247000000001040, UCLA Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  4. Friberg, Richard & Ganslandt, Mattias, 2005. "Reciprocal dumping with Bertrand competition," Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance 592, Stockholm School of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Lou, Weifang & Prentice, David & Yin, Xiangkang, 2008. "The Effects of Product Ageing on Demand: The Case of Digital Cameras," MPRA Paper 13407, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  6. Patrick Bajari & C. Lanier Benkard, 2001. "Demand Estimation With Heterogeneous Consumers and Unobserved Product Characteristics: A Hedonic Approach," NBER Technical Working Papers 0272, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Sofronis Clerides, 2004. "Gains from Trade in Used Goods: Evidence from the Global Market for Automobiles," University of Cyprus Working Papers in Economics 6-2004, University of Cyprus Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Christopher T. Conlon & Julie Holland Mortimer, 2008. "Demand Estimation Under Incomplete Product Availability," NBER Working Papers 14315, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Christos Genakos, 2004. "DIFFERENTIAL MERGER EFFECTS: The Case of the Personal Computer Industry," STICERD - Economics of Industry Papers 39, Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, LSE. [Downloadable!]
  10. Sergio Aquino de Souza, 2008. "Combining Prior Information and Data to Uncover the Parameters from the Random Coefficient Discrete? Choice Demand Model," Anais do XXXVI Encontro Nacional de Economia [Proceedings of the 36th Brazilian Economics Meeting] 200807211342080, ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pósgraduação em Economia [Brazilian Association of Graduate Programs in Economics]. [Downloadable!]
  11. Reiss, Peter C. & Wolak, Frank A., 2003. "Structural Econometric Modeling: Rationales and Examples from Industrial Organization," Research Papers 1831, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business. [Downloadable!]
  12. C. Lanier Benkard & Patrick Bajari, 2004. "Demand Estimation with Heterogeneous Consumers and Unobserved Product Characteristics: A Hedonic Approach," NBER Working Papers 10278, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Benkard, C. Lanier & Bajari, Patrick, 2001. "Demand Estimation with Heterogeneous Consumers and Unobserved Product Characteristics: A Hedonic Approach," Research Papers 1691, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business. [Downloadable!]
  14. Jason T. Abaluck & Jonathan Gruber, 2009. "Choice Inconsistencies Among the Elderly: Evidence from Plan Choice in the Medicare Part D Program," NBER Working Papers 14759, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Patrick Bajari & C. Lanier Benkard, 2001. "Demand Estimation With Heterogeneous Consumers and Unobserved Product Characteristics: A Hedonic Approach," Working Papers 01010, Stanford University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  16. Haijime Katayama & Shihua Lu & James Tybout, 2003. "Why Plant-Level Productivity Studies are Often Misleading, and an Alternative Approach to Interference," NBER Working Papers 9617, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Patrick Bajari & Lanier Benkard, 2001. "Discrete Choice Models as Structural Models of Demand: Some Economic Implications of Common Approaches," Working Papers 01016, Stanford University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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