PhD thesis defence by Philip Hanspach
This thesis is composed of three independent chapters, the third of which consists of two separate but thematically related papers.
In Chapter 1, I introduce a theoretical model of vertical integration with a novel demand structure to investigate the effect of vertical integration into Internet infrastructure on competition in digital markets. I find that pure infrastructure providers have an incentive to accommodate vertically integrated firms by becoming "commoditised" suppliers of infrastructure. My model explains new trends in digital markets and has implications for competition policy, industrial policy and political economy.
In Chapter 2, I estimate the effects of crisis intensity and deregulation on home bias in procurement. Using a novel data set on the award of procurement contracts for medical supplies during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe, I study the propensity to award contracts internationally. I document a unique shift towards international procurement, driven by local spikes in infection rates and deregulation.
In Chapter 3, I study the role of pricing algorithms in online marketplaces. Its first part is a joint article with Giacomo Calzolari that describes the algorithmic repricing industry. Based on a novel sample of 130 repricing companies, we study the prices and claimed attributes of pricing algorithms. We find that turn-key algorithmic pricing services are widely available, and discuss product features, fees, and associated services. The second part of Chapter 3 is a literature review on algorithmic pricing. I summarise findings from the economics literature covering computational, experimental, and empirical methods as well as adjacent fields. I argue that a lack of understanding of buyer responses to algorithmic pricing cycles and endogenous adoption of algorithmic pricing are the main gaps in the literature.
The event will take place in HYBRID mode.