Data and Code for: Digitization and Pre-Purchase Information: The Causal and Welfare Effects of Reviews and Crowd Ratings
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Imke Reimers, Northeastern University; Joel Waldfogel, University of Minnesota
Version: View help for Version V1
| Name | File Type | Size | Last Modified |
|---|---|---|---|
| replication | 02/20/2021 11:55:AM |
Project Citation:
Reimers, Imke, and Waldfogel, Joel. Data and Code for: Digitization and Pre-Purchase Information: The Causal and Welfare Effects of Reviews and Crowd Ratings. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2021. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2021-05-24. https://doi.org/10.3886/E130802V1
Project Description
Summary:
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Data and code for the following project: Digitization and Pre-Purchase Information: The Causal and Welfare Effects of Reviews and Crowd Ratings
Abstract
Digitization has led to many new creative products, straining the capacity of professional critics and consumers. Yet, the digitization of retailing has also delivered new crowd-based sources of pre-purchase information. We compare the relative impacts of professional critics and crowd-based Amazon star ratings on consumer welfare in book publishing. Using various fixed effects and discontinuity-based empirical strategies, we estimate their causal impacts on sales. We use these causal estimates to calibrate a structural demand model. The aggregate effect of star ratings on consumer surplus is, in our baseline estimates, more than ten times the effect of traditional review outlets.
Scope of Project
JEL Classification:
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L15 Information and Product Quality; Standardization and Compatibility
L81 Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce
L15 Information and Product Quality; Standardization and Compatibility
L81 Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce
Geographic Coverage:
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US
Time Period(s):
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1/1/2018 – 12/31/2018
Data Type(s):
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administrative records data
Collection Notes:
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See the README file.
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