87 research outputs found
The Oberholzer-Gee/Strumpf File-Sharing Instrument Fails the Laugh Test
No full textI examine the key instrument (German kids on vacation) used by Professors Oberholzer-Gee and Strumpf. Their measured relationship between the instrument and the variable that it is instrumenting for, American downloading, is seen to have outlandish implications, indicating an important error. The instrument is also shown to be related to American record sales, contrary to the requirements of their analysis. The data set used by O/S is biased, considerably overstating the share of German files. Finally, I demonstrate that the instrument must have a de minimus impact on American downloading (and thus American record sales) negating its potential usefulness and implying that their approach could never have worked.
Essays in political economy
No full textThesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Economics, 1995.Includes bibliographical references.by Koleman S. Strumpf.Ph.D
The Effect of File Sharing on Record Sales: An Empirical Analysis
No full textFor industries ranging from software to pharmaceuticals and entertainment,
there is an intense debate about the appropriate level of
protection for intellectual property. The Internet provides a natural
crucible to assess the implications of reduced protection because it
drastically lowers the cost of copying information. In this paper, we
analyze whether file sharing has reduced the legal sales of music. While
this question is receiving considerable attention in academia, industry,
and Congress, we are the first to study the phenomenon employing
data on actual downloads of music files.We match an extensive sample
of downloads to U.S. sales data for a large number of albums. To
establish causality, we instrument for downloads using data on international
school holidays. Downloads have an effect on sales that is
statistically indistinguishable from zero. Our estimates are inconsistent
We would like to thank Bharat Anand, Gary Becker, Bob Frank, Shane Greenstein,
Austan Goolsbee, Alan Krueger, Steven Levitt, Tom Mroz, Alan Sorensen, Joel Waldfogel,
Steven Wildman, Pai-Ling Yin, participants at numerous seminars, and two anonymous
referees for helpful comments. This project would not have been possible without the
assistance of several individuals and organizations. MixMasterFlame and the FlameNap
network shared P2P data with us, and BigChampagne LLC, the CMJ Network, Nathaniel
Leibowitz, and Nevil Brownlee generously provided auxiliary data. We thank Keith Ross
and David Weekly for assistance in understanding the KaZaA, OpenNap, and WinMX
search protocols and database indices. Sarah Woolverton and Christina Hsiung Chen
provided superb research assistance. The financial support of the George F. Baker Foundation
(Oberholzer-Gee) and the Kenan Faculty Fund (Strumpf) is gratefully acknowledged.
We appreciated the aural support from Massive Attack, Sigur Ros, and the Mountain
Goats
INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL ISSUE ON CORPORATE APPLICATIONS OF PREDICTION MARKETS
No full textMost academic journals are destined to be read by a few specialists and then quickly archived to dusty bookshelves. This special issue has a very different aim. It is primarily intended to be a gentle introduction for business practitioners interested in corporate applications of prediction markets. While it is easy to find laudatory reports on these markets in the popular press, such stories are typically based on only one or two case studies. This special issue seeks to bridge this gap, by collecting the experiences of several pioneers in corporate prediction markets
Haben Tauschbörsen möglicherweise keinen Einfluss auf die Umsätze der Musikindustrie?
No full textProfessor Felix Oberholzer-Gee (Havard Business School") und Professor Koleman Strumpf (University of North Carolina) haben in einer empirischen Studie herausgefunden, dass die Nutzung von P2P-Tauschbörsen wohl doch keinen besonderen Effekt auf die CD-Verkaufszahlen haben. Das wird die Musikindustrie wohl nicht davon abhalten, ihre eigenen Kunden zu verklagen und zu vergraulen. [Telepolis
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