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Seeders, leechers and social norms: Evidence from the market for illicit digital downloading

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  • Cox, Joe
  • Collins, Alan
  • Drinkwater, Stephen

Abstract

The sharing of files via peer-to-peer (P2P) and related networks has become a hugely contentious issue in recent years, with the music industry citing this practice as a significant threat to intellectual property rights and the long term financial viability of its activities. Using Finnish data, this study examines the apparent determinants and factors associated with this important and little documented activity. Results indicate that file sharers behave in a way which is consistent with expectations drawn from economic theory but differs depending upon the stated extent of participation.

Suggested Citation

  • Cox, Joe & Collins, Alan & Drinkwater, Stephen, 2010. "Seeders, leechers and social norms: Evidence from the market for illicit digital downloading," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 299-305, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iepoli:v:22:y:2010:i:4:p:299-305
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. André Le Roux & Marinette Thébault & Thomas Stenger, 2017. "An international comparison of consumers' categorization of resistance behaviors," Post-Print hal-02396996, HAL.
    2. Tilman Klumpp, 2014. "File Sharing, Network Architecture, and Copyright Enforcement: An Overview," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(7), pages 444-459, October.
    3. Wojciech Hardy & Michal Krawczyk & Joanna Tyrowicz, 2019. "File sharing as conditional cooperation: evidence from a framed field experiment," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(2), pages 91-96, January.
    4. Victoria Ateca-Amestoy & Concetta Castiglione, 2023. "Live and digital engagement with the visual arts," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 47(4), pages 643-692, December.
    5. André Le Roux & Marinette Thébault & François Bobrie, 2015. "Les consommateurs de contrefaçon : le prix n'est pas la seule motivation," Post-Print halshs-02530112, HAL.
    6. Christian Handke, 2013. "Empirical evidence on copyright," Chapters, in: Ruth Towse & Christian Handke (ed.), Handbook on the Digital Creative Economy, chapter 22, pages 249-261, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    7. Anna Kukla-Gryz & Joanna Tyrowicz & Michał Krawczyk & Konrad Siwiński, 2015. "We all do it, but are we willing to admit? Incentivizing digital pirates' confessions," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(3), pages 184-188, February.
    8. André Le Roux & Thomas Stenger & Marinette Thebault, 2015. "Les digital natives sont-ils des consommateurs plus « résistants » ?," Post-Print halshs-02533935, HAL.

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    Keywords

    File sharing Piracy Social norms;

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