Research Seminar Series in Economic Sciences, 2024 – 2025
Speaker: Christos Genakos, Professor of Economics and Policy, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge
Title: “Cultural Exception? The Impact of Price Regulation on Prices and Variety in the Market for Books”
Date & Time: Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025, 14:00 – 15:30
Place: Grypario Megaro (Sofokleous 1) | 4th floor | Lecture Hall “Kosmas Psychopedis” (416)
Live streaming of the event: https://delos.uoa.gr/opendelos/search-live
Url: https://www.econ.uoa.gr/ereynitika_seminaria_research_seminars/
Abstract:
Fixed book price (FBP) agreements are a form of resale price maintenance 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.
Organizers: Dimitris Kenourgios, Professor
George Dotsis, Assoc. Professor
Frago Kourandi, Assist. Professor
Thank you.
