000			03649nam a22003497a 4500
001			19099152
003			OSt
005			20201201034520.0
008			170630b xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
010			_a 2016018188
020			_a9780674545472 _q(cloth)
040			_aMH/DLC _beng _cMH _erda _dIIMU
042			_apcc
082	0	4	_a381.142 _223
100	1		_aEzrachi, Ariel, _d1971- _eauthor. _91003249
245	1	0	_aVirtual competition : _bthe promise and perils of the algorithm-driven economy / _cAriel Ezrachi, Maurice E. Stucke.
264		1	_aNew Delhi : _aCambridge, Massachusetts ; _bHarvard University Press, _c2016.
300			_aviii, 356 p. : _billustrations ; _c25 cm
336			_atext _2rdacontent
337			_aunmediated _2rdamedia
338			_avolume _2rdacarrier
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
505	0		_aPart I. Setting the scene: The promise of a better competitive environment -- New economic reality: the rise of big data and big analytics -- Light touch antitrust -- Looking beyond the facade of competition -- Part II. The collusion scenarios: The messenger scenario -- Hub and spoke -- Tacit collusion on steroids: the predictable agent -- Artificial intelligence -- Part III. Behavioral discrimination: Price discrimination explained -- The age of perfect price discrimination? -- The rise of "almost perfect" behavioral discrimination -- Behavioral discrimination: economic and social perspectives -- The comparison intermediaries -- Part IV. Frenemies: The dynamic interplay among "frenemies" -- Extraction and capture -- "Why invite a arsonist to your home?": understanding the "frenemy" mentality -- Part V. Intervention: To regulate or not to regulate -- The enforcement toolbox.
520			_aIn this book Ariel Ezrachi and Maurice Stucke take a hard look at today's app-assisted digital shopping. While consumers reap many benefits from online purchasing, the sophisticated algorithms and data crunching that make browsing so convenient are also changing the nature of market competition, and not always for the better. Computers colluding is one danger. Although longstanding laws prevent companies from fixing prices, data-driven algorithms can now quickly monitor competitors' prices and adjust their own prices accordingly. So what is seemingly beneficial--increased price transparency--ironically can end up harming consumers. A second danger is behavioral discrimination. Here, companies track and profile consumers to get them to buy goods at the highest price they are willing to pay. The rise of superplatforms and their "frenemy" relationship with independent app developers raises a third danger. By controlling key platforms (such as the operating system of smart phones), data-driven monopolies dictate the flow of personal data and determine who gets to exploit potential buyers. The book raises timely questions. To what extent does the "invisible hand" still hold sway? In markets continually manipulated by bots and algorithms, is competitive pricing an illusion? Can our current laws protect consumers? The changing market reality is already shifting power into the hands of the few. Ezrachi and Stucke explore the resulting risks to competition, our democratic ideals, and our economic and overall well-being.-- _cProvided by publisher
650		0	_aElectronic commerce.
650		0	_aPricing _xTechnological innovations.
650		0	_aBusiness Intelligence.
650		0	_aData Processing.
700	1		_aStucke, Maurice E., _eauthor. _91003254
906			_a7 _bcbc _corignew _d1 _eecip _f20 _gy-gencatlg
942			_2ddc _cM
999			_c213680 _d213680