Bundling in telecommunications

The paper offers an overview of the literature on bundling in telecommunications sector and its application in the Spanish marke

Fiber deployment in Spain [WP]

Next generation access networks will be critical for future economic growth and access to these infrastructures will have major consequences for territorial and social cohesion. This paper examines the economic and regulatory determinants that serve as incentives for operators to invest in fiber-to-the-home technology. We draw on a dataset comprising 6,063 Spanish municipalities with access to broadband services to examine the incumbents’ (Telefónica) deployment of fiber in the period 2010-13. We show that local loop unbundling competition had a strong positive impact on Telefónica’s fiber deployment, while bitstream competition had a negative effect.Moreover, the incumbent was more likely to invest in municipalities with a large presence of cable operators. We also consider how the municipalities’ sociodemographic characteristics affected the operator’s deployment decision. While market size and population density had a positive effect on investment, the level of unemployment and the percentage of elderly population had a negative impact

Usos y abusos de la literatura de claúsulas vinculantes en el análisis de los mercados para bienes sistema

. Los bienes sistema son de consumo duradero, compuestos por partes duraderas que se suelen comprar secuencialmente, pero que se usan juntas. La compatibilidad tecnológica garantiza la funcionalidad conjunta de las partes en las distintas empresas y permite a cada consumidor mejorar cada sistema. Sin embargo, la incompatibilidad tecnológica puede aumentar el poder de los proveedores. La literatura sobre el uso estratégico de las cláusulas vinculantes se ha ocupado de analizar la posibilidad de traslación del poder de mercado. Sin embargo, esta literatura se ha inspirado en situaciones en las que el vínculo se debe a cláusulas contractuales. Este artículo analiza los aciertos de esta teoría en el análisis del caso de los bienes sistema que presentan incompatibilidad tecnológica. También expone una limitación de esta teoría: No se ha ocupado del análisis de los efectos de la incompatibilidad sobre las actividades de investigación y desarrollo de las empresa

GPs’ Payment Contracts and their Referral Policy

The aim of this paper is to compare the role of general practitioners in determining access to specialised and hospitalised health care in two different types of health care systems: Systems where a GP referral is compulsory for specialist/hospitalised attention and systems where this referral is only facultative. We model the dependence between the GPs’ diagnosis effort and referral practice, and concentrate on the optimal contracts that induce the best behaviour from the public insurers’ point of view with asymmetric information on both GP's diagnosis effort and diagnosis outcome. We show that the compulsory referral system is superior wherever the GP's incentives matter.health economics, referral, contracts, moral hazard.

Do telecommunications prices depend on consumer engagement? Telecomunicacions; compromís del consumidor; ofertes de retenció; discriminació de preus basada en el comportament

This paper analyzes how customers' heterogeneous search and switching habits affect the prices paid for telecommunication services in a context in which operators use price discrimination strategies to retain their customers and attract those of their rivals. Drawing on a representative sample of Spanish households (N=3,113), we show that engaged consumers pay 9.4% less than completely unengaged consumers for their telecommunication services, after controlling for the characteristics of the bundle of services contracted. We also find that highly engaged consumers (i.e. those that have called their operator to obtain a better deal and who have switched to a different operator at least once) pay 13.6% less for their services than unengaged consumers, that consumers who have switched operator at least once pay 8.4% less, and that consumers who call their operator to request better conditions for their contracts pay 5.8% less. Finally, we show that the excess price paid by unengaged consumers increases as they contract more sophisticated services, such as premium television content and additional mobile lines

Drivers of Consumer Participation in Online Second-Hand Transactions

Consumer participation in second-hand transactions is increasing, facilitated by digital platforms in the form of apps or websites. This study sheds light on the factors behind consumers’ decisions to demand used goods via online platforms. Applying a logit model to a sample of 6705 internet users in Spain, we explore the role of economic variables, situational factors and individual characteristics. Our original findings indicate that the use of online platforms to buy or rent second-hand goods is more likely when being male, relatively young, with children, a frequent internet user, with employment and living in a household with some price-consciousness and environmental awareness. The scarcity of brick-and-mortar stores in the area and car ownership can also increase demand for used goods through online platforms

The strategic interaction between firms and formulary committees: effects on the prices of new drugs

We study the strategic interaction between the pricing decisions of a pharmaceutical firm and the reimbursement decisions of a government agency which grants reimbursement rights to patients for whom new drugs are most cost-effective. If the reimbursement decision precedes pricing, the agency only reimburses some patients if the drug’s private and public health benefits diverge. This is, there are consumption externalities and the variable cost of the drug exceeds the alternative’s. Contrarily, if the firm can commit to a price before reimbursement, a strategic effect implies that by setting a sufficiently high price, the firm can make the agency more willing to reimburse than without commitment

Bundling in telecommunications

The paper offers an overview of the literature on bundling in telecommunications sector and its application in the Spanish marke