Competition and Defaults in Online Search

Decarolis, Francesco; Li, Muxin; Paternollo, Filippo

doi:10.1257/mic.20230193

Abstract

This paper offers the first systematic quantitative assessment of default-option interventions designed to mitigate Google鈥檚 search dominance. By analyzing interventions in the European Economic Area, Russia, and Turkey, we find that, across all three cases, changes to default settings effectively reduced Google鈥檚 market share. The causal impact amounts to less than 1 percentage point in the EEA and over 10 percentage points in Russia and Turkey. Differences arise from intervention nuances, including the size of the targeted users鈥� group, local market characteristics, and remedy designs. We discuss the complexity of assessing the interventions鈥� impact on welfare deriving from quality responses.

蝌蚪网

蝌蚪网 Journal:
Microeconomics