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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Guest Speaker: Brian McManus, Washington University
Talk title: A Greater Price for a Greater Good? The Charity Premium in Online Auctions
Will consumers pay higher prices for products linked to charitable causes? This question is relevant both to the strategies of for-profit firms and to the fund-raising efforts of non-profit organizations. To answer the question, we analyze a novel data set that matches identical products sold on eBay via charity and non-charity auctions. Items sold through charity auctions have prices that are 6% higher, on average, than in non-charity auctions for matched products. The charity premium increases with the share of revenue donated and declines with the value of the item for sale. We develop a model of charity auction participation that is consistent with the observed positive charity premium that decreases with product value. We use data on bid timing to infer that the premium is due in part to bidders perceiving charity revenue as a public good. In charity auctions bidders submit their bids relatively early, and this induces other bidders to bid more aggressively.
This lecture is free and open to the public.
Please contact Ruth Uwaifo at 404-385-4992.
