All Article Summaries
These article summaries are written by TAP staff members. TAP’s purpose for this section of the site is to present information, points of view, research, and debates.
Invention Value, Inventive Capability and the Large Firm Advantage
Large firms have an advantage in innovation. A new model shows that large firms are better at commercializing new inventions. The advantage is less in sectors where innovators can easily license technologies to other firms.
Should I Stay or Should I Go? Migrating Away from an Incumbent Platform
Incumbents enjoy competitive advantages over new entrants, because users hesitate to abandon a widely-used platform for one with few users. A new model explores factors that increase and reduce incumbency advantage.
How Platforms Create Value Through Coring and Implications for Market Definition
Digital platforms coordinate interactions between user groups, an activity known as "coring." When analyzing coring conduct, antitrust courts should avoid defining the platform’s market too narrowly.
Big Data, Little Chance of Success: Why Precedent Does Not Support Anti-Data Theories of Harm
Some worry that tech firms could use big data to harm consumers and competition. Forcing firms to share data would reduce incentives to innovate and compete. Concerns about privacy are better addressed by privacy law.
Antitrust Policy toward Intermediaries: Digital Platforms and “Big Tech”
Antitrust authorities express concerns about the power of "Big Tech." Authorities should apply advances in the study of platforms to better understand the beneficial role of digital platforms serving as intermediaries.
Antitrust and Innovation Competition
Some antitrust policymakers are recognizing the importance of innovation competition, including nonprice competition and technological change. Antitrust policymakers must update their analysis to avoid errors.
Reclaiming Spectrum from Incumbents in Inefficiently Allocated Bands: Transaction Costs, Competition, and Flexibility
Some electromagnetic spectrum is used inefficiently. In reclaiming this spectrum for allocation to more efficient uses and users, the FCC may choose between a simple overlay auction and a more complex two-sided auction.
Harming Competition and Consumers under the Guise of Protecting Privacy: An Analysis of Apple’s iOS 14 Policy Updates
Apple’s iOS 14 update claims to protect privacy by requiring consumers to opt in to allow data sharing by third-party apps. But this unfairly advantages Apple’s own products.
Understanding AI Collusion and Compliance
Artificial intelligence (AI) allows firms to adopt new types of anti-competitive behavior, but may also aid in the detection of such behavior. AI collusion could include non-price elements, such as product reviews and ratings.
Restrictions on Privacy and Exploitation in the Digital Economy: A Market Failure Perspective
Digital platforms collect consumer data by default. Changing the default setting to require to consumers to “opt-in” to allow use of their data could create a market in data, but large platforms would still enjoy too much market power.
