Abstract

Better models of demand for social media would be useful for both platform managers and regulators. In a series of papers, I develop and analyze a general model of social media platforms. The key parameters of the model are elasticities of demand and the matrix of network effects each type of uses have on each other type of user. In surveys and lab experiments we attempt to measure heterogeneity in these parameters, finding several robust patterns. Using a version of the model calibrated on surveys of demand for Facebook, we simulate the welfare effects of several proposed government antitrust interventions.  

Please contact dip.mkt@unibocconi.it if you wish to attend.