Complaint. Answer and Oneworld answers to questions. Docket and public comments.
Status: Consent order.
Summary: mischaracterizing surcharges as “tax”
British Airways – price advertising violations (2013)
Complaint. Answer. Edelman Reply. British Airways Surreply. Docket and public comments.
Status: Consent order.
Summary: price advertising violations including a “fuel surcharge” in excess of cost of fuel
Pricing and Partnership at Zillow, Inc. (teaching materials) with Peter Coles
Coles, Peter, and Benjamin Edelman. “Pricing and Partnership at Zillow, Inc.” Harvard Business School Case 913-021, November 2012. (Revised March 2015.) (educator access at HBP. request a courtesy copy.)
As Zillow’s real estate search service gains user adoption, some real estate professionals question Zillow’s policies, fees, and power. Dissatisfied real estate professionals could remove listings from Zillow, reducing the service’s value to users. Should Zillow adjust its approach in order to address complaints?
Teaching Materials:
Pricing and Partnership at Zillow, Inc. – Teaching Note (HBP 914043)
Earnings and Ratings at Google Answers
Edelman, Benjamin. “Earnings and Ratings at Google Answers.” Economic Inquiry 50, no. 2 (April 2012): 309-320. (draft as first circulated in 2004.)
I analyze all questions and answers from the inception of the Google Answers service through November 2003, and I find notable trends in answerer behavior: more experienced answerers provide answers with the characteristics askers most value, receiving higher ratings as a result. Answerer earnings increase in experience, consistent with learning on the job. Answerers who focus on particular question categories provide answers of higher quality but earn lower pay per hour (perhaps reflecting a lack of versatility). Answers provided during the business day receive higher payments per hour (a compensating differential for working when outside options are most attractive), but more experienced answerers tend to forego these opportunities.
Advertising Disclosures: Measuring Labeling Alternatives in Internet Search Engines
Edelman, Benjamin, and Duncan S. Gilchrist. “Advertising Disclosures: Measuring Labeling Alternatives in Internet Search Engines.” Information Economics and Policy 24, no. 1 (March 2012): 75-89.
In an online experiment, we measure users’ interactions with search engines, both in standard configurations and in modified versions with clearer labels identifying search engine advertisements. In particular, for a random subset of users, we change “Sponsored links” or “Ads” labels to instead read “Paid Advertisements.” Relative to users receiving the “Sponsored link” or “Ad” labels, users receiving the “Paid Advertisement” label click 25% and 27% fewer advertisements, respectively. Users seeing “Paid Advertisement” labels also correctly report that they click fewer advertisements, controlling for the number of advertisements they actually click. Results are most pronounced for commercial searches and for vulnerable users with low education and little online experience.
Using Internet Data for Economic Research
Edelman, Benjamin. “Using Internet Data for Economic Research.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 26, no. 2 (Spring 2012): 189-206.
The data used by economists can be broadly divided into two categories. First, structured datasets arise when a government agency, trade association, or company can justify the expense of assembling records. The Internet has transformed how economists interact with these datasets by lowering the cost of storing, updating, distributing, finding, and retrieving this information. Second, some economic researchers affirmatively collect data of interest. Historically, assembling a dataset might involve delving through annual reports or archives that had not previously been organized into a format ready for research: in some cases, surveying stores, factories, consumers, or workers, or in other cases, carrying out an experiment. For researcher-collected data, the Internet opens exceptional possibilities both by increasing the amount of information available for researchers to gather and by lowering researchers’ costs of collecting information. In this paper, I explore the Internet’s new datasets, present methods for harnessing their wealth, and survey a sampling of the research questions these data help to answer.
Antitrust Scrutiny of Google
Edelman, Benjamin. “Antitrust Scrutiny of Google.” Journal of Law 2, no. 2 (2012): 445-464.
I evaluate antitrust claims against Google and propose possible remedies. While Google’s specific tactics are often novel, I show connections to practices deemed unlawful over a period of decades, and I identify remedies well grounded in antitrust precedent.
Airbnb (teaching materials) with Michael Luca
Edelman, Benjamin, and Michael Luca. “Airbnb (A).” Harvard Business School Case 912-019, December 2011. (Revised March 2012.) (educator access at HBP. request a courtesy copy.)
After widely-publicized complaints of destructive guests and unreliable hosts, online apartment rental site Airbnb explores mechanisms to facilitate trust between guests and hosts. Flexible online reputation systems can collect and share information with ease, but Airbnb must decide which information guests and hosts should have to provide and how much flexibility each should have in selecting who to do business with. A full-featured system could provide all the information users have been requesting, but would it be too complicated for routine use?
Supplements:
Airbnb (B) – Supplement (HBP 912019)
Teaching Material:
Airbnb (A) and (B) – Teaching Note (HBP 912021)
Attack of the Clones: Birchbox Defends Against Copycat Competitors (teaching materials) with Peter Coles
Coles, Peter A., and Benjamin Edelman. “Attack of the Clones: Birchbox Defends Against Copycat Competitors.” Harvard Business School Case 912-010, November 2011. (Revised October 2014.) ( educator access at HBP. request a courtesy copy.)
Birchbox offers trial-sized beauty products delivered monthly by mail—attracting rave reviews. Seeing the success of this model, numerous “copycat” clones seek to offer the same service. Many of these copycats focus on non-U.S. countries, but others are challenging Birchbox on its home territory. Can Birchbox defend its position? How?
Towards Improvement in Singapore’s Transportation Efficiency and Environmental Impact
Edelman, Benjamin. “Towards Improvement in Singapore’s Transportation Efficiency and Environmental Impact.” October 2011. (Submission to the National Climate Change Secretariat of Singapore.)
I evaluate the suitability of Personal Rapid Transport (PRT) for transportation problems in Singapore, and I propose short-term and long-term applications.