Consumer privacy and the market for customer information
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2004-12-01
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Abstract
I investigate consumer privacy and the market for customer information in electronic retailing. The value of customer information derives from the ability of Internet firms to identify individual consumers and charge them personalized prices. I study two settings, a confidential regime in which the sale of customer information is not possible, and a disclosure regime in which one firm may compile and sell a customer list to another firm that uses it to price discriminate. Welfare comparisons depend critically on whether consumers anticipate sale of the list and on demand elasticity. Copyright © 2004, RAND.
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Scholars@Duke
Curtis R. Taylor
Taylor's primary research interest is microeconomic theory with emphasis on the areas of Industrial Organization, Political Economy, and the Theory of Contracts. He has worked on a variety of topics such as: the optimal design of research contests, the causes and timing of market crashes, and consumer privacy. Professor Taylor's research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, among others.
He served as an associate editor for the American Economic Review from 1995 to 2001, and is currently on the editorial boards of the RAND Journal of Economics, the Journal of Industrial Organization, the BE Journal of Theoretical Economics, and the BE Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy.
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