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Who Should Set Book Prices?

Author

Listed:
  • Silvi Berger

    (Centre for Competition Policy, University of East Anglia)

  • Morten Hviid

    (Centre for Competition Policy, University of East Anglia)

Abstract
The key question for this paper is by whom and with what restrictions the price of books should be set. In the past, public cultural policy has in some jurisdictions favoured limiting competition at the retail level by mandating a fixed book price system, where prices are the same everywhere. Digitalisation has enabled some competition authorities to challenge this practice. This has left us with a situation where very different rules apply to the book market in different jurisdictions and where the initial question of who sets prices faced with what restrictions is given a very different answer across EU member states. This paper uses recent antitrust cases to highlight the tension over who should have the price setting power in the market for books.

Suggested Citation

  • Silvi Berger & Morten Hviid, 2019. "Who Should Set Book Prices?," Working Paper series, University of East Anglia, Centre for Competition Policy (CCP) 2019-07, Centre for Competition Policy, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK..
    • Handle: RePEc:uea:ueaccp:2019_07
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Babur De los Santos & Matthijs R. Wildenbeest, 2017. "E-book pricing and vertical restraints," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 85-122, June.
    2. Babur De los Santos & Daniel P. O'Brien & Matthijs R. Wildenbeest, 2018. "Agency Pricing and Bargaining: Evidence from the E-Book Market," Working Papers 18-14, NET Institute.
    3. Maria Luisa Palma Martos & Luís Palma Martos, 2007. "Fixed Book Pricing in Spain: A Debate between Economic Efficiency and Cultural Diversity," Chapters, in: Philip Cooke & Luciana Lazzeretti (ed.), Creative Cities, Cultural Clusters and Local Economic Development, chapter 6, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Chr. Hjorth-Andersen, 2000. "A Model of the Danish Book Market," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 24(1), pages 27-43, February.
    5. Richard J. Gilbert, 2015. "E-Books: A Tale of Digital Disruption," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 29(3), pages 165-184, Summer.
    6. Canoy, Marcel & van Ours, Jan C. & van der Ploeg, Frederick, 2006. "The Economics of Books," Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture, in: V.A. Ginsburgh & D. Throsby (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 21, pages 721-761, Elsevier.
    7. Françoise Benhamou, 2015. "Fair use and fair competition for digitized cultural goods: the case of eBooks," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 39(2), pages 123-131, May.
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    10. Frederick van der Ploeg, 2004. "Beyond the Dogma of the Fixed Book Price Agreement," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 28(1), pages 1-20, February.
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    12. repec:bla:jindec:v:48:y:2000:i:4:p:473-88 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Gilbert, Richard J, 2015. "E-books: A Tale of Digital Disruption," Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt0wg6v2r6, Department of Economics, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
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    17. Oecd, 2012. "E-books: Developments and Policy Considerations," OECD Digital Economy Papers 208, OECD Publishing.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Retail Price MFN; Across Platform Parity Agreements; price guarantees; agency models;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • D4 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design
    • L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media

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