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The Economics of Crowdfunding

Author

Listed:
  • Jen-Wen Chang

Abstract

An entrepreneur finances her project via crowdfunding. She chooses a funding mechanism (fixed or flexible), a price, and a funding goal. Under fixed funding, money is refunded if the goal is not met; under flexible funding, there is no refund. Backers observe signals about project value and decide whether to contribute or postpone purchase to the retail stage. Using the linkage principle, we show that the optimal campaign uses fixed funding. Furthermore, we show that an entrepreneur who is not financially constrained can approximately extract full surplus using fixed funding. Therefore, crowdfunding is attractive to both small and large entrepreneurs.

Suggested Citation

  • Jen-Wen Chang, 2020. "The Economics of Crowdfunding," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 257-280, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejmic:v:12:y:2020:i:2:p:257-80
    DOI: 10.1257/mic.20170183
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D26 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Crowd-Based Firms
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship

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