          |
|
When One Just Isn't Enough: The Economic and Policy Implications of Multi-sided Markets June 18, 2003 Noon--2:00 p.m. Many businesses can succeed only by balancing the needs of distinct classes of interdependent customers. Thus credit cards, which link shoppers and retailers, can only generate value if both sides participate. Similarly, dating clubs enable men and women to meet each other. The makers of computer operating systems like Windows coordinate hardware vendors, software applications developers, and end-users. Yet such “multi-sided” markets, which generate a large and growing share of output in the modern economy, are terra incognita for most economists and policymakers. This panel discussion will explore the ways firms in multi-sided markets differ from traditional organizations––how they must set prices to balance demand, and how regulation in areas ranging from antitrust to intellectual property protection must adjust to sustain healthy competition.
|
||||||||||||
