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Behavioral Decision-Making: An Application to the Setting of Magazine Subscription Prices

Author

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  • Fiona Scott Morton
  • Sharon Oster

Abstract

Using data from American magazines, we explore the relationship between subscription discounts and magazine characteristics. We focus in particular on those magazine features that might lead time-inconsistent consumers to wish to engage in commitment behavior. We find that for magazines whose payoff is in the future and/or that are meritorious for other reasons, subscription discounts are lower all else equal. This finding suggests that publishers may be able to set subscription prices in order to extract rents from consumers' willingness to tie their own hands in terms of their future reading.

Suggested Citation

  • Fiona Scott Morton & Sharon Oster, 2003. "Behavioral Decision-Making: An Application to the Setting of Magazine Subscription Prices," NBER Working Papers 10120, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:10120
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Charles Angelucci & Julia Cagé, 2019. "Newspapers in Times of Low Advertising Revenues," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(3), pages 319-364, August.
    2. Nava Ashraf & Dean Karlan & Wesley Yin, 2006. "Tying Odysseus to the Mast: Evidence From a Commitment Savings Product in the Philippines," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(2), pages 635-672.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • L2 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior

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