Dear colleagues,

The Department of Economics cordially invites you to the WU Economics Research Seminar on Wednesday, January 24^th, with

Christos Genakos

(University of Cambridge)

on

"Cultural Exception? The Impact of Price Regulation on Prices and Variety in the Italian Book Market"

Abstract: Fixed book price (FBP) agreements are a form of resale price maintenance commonly applied to books in various countries. FBP restricts retail price competition with the aim of promoting book production variety. Yet, despite its popularity and adoption in many countries, there is no empirical evidence on its effects. We offer systematic evidence on the impact of FBP on book variety and prices using a detailed new dataset from Italy that includes the universe of books published and bought, before and after the introduction of FBP. Our results indicate that FBP raises prices without significantly affecting the number of new books published in the marketplace. However, it also increases considerably the variety of books actually bought, especially from independent bookstores. We estimate a structural model of demand that accounts for both effects, finding that consumers overall benefited from the regulation.

Date: Wednesday, January 24^th

Time: 4.30 to 6 pm (CET)

Location: building D4, ground floor, room D4.0.019

With best regards,

Harald Oberhofer

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Univ.-Prof. Dr. Harald Oberhofer

Department of Economics 

WU Vienna University of Economics and Business

Phone: +43/1/31336-4984

Email: harald.oberhofer@wu.ac.at

Webpage: https://www.wu.ac.at/en/economics/people/oberhofer-h/

Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO)

Phone: +43/1/7982601-468

Email: harald.oberhofer@wifo.ac.at

Webpage: http://www.wifo.ac.at/harald_oberhofer