Alex MacKay
@amackay.bsky.social
Economist and professor at the University of Virginia.
www.alexandermackay.org
www.alexandermackay.org
Reposted by Alex MacKay
New evidence from a field experiment finds that Amazon brands generate positive benefits to consumers, despite having similar substitutes and receiving priority in search rankings, from Chiara Farronato, Andrey Fradkin, and @amackay.bsky.social https://www.nber.org/papers/w34135
August 21, 2025 at 5:00 PM
New evidence from a field experiment finds that Amazon brands generate positive benefits to consumers, despite having similar substitutes and receiving priority in search rankings, from Chiara Farronato, Andrey Fradkin, and @amackay.bsky.social https://www.nber.org/papers/w34135
Using a field experiment, we studied how consumers valued Amazon brands and the extent of self-preferencing by Amazon.
We found that Amazon brands bring benefits to consumers, even though they receive a modest prioritization in search rankings.
We found that Amazon brands bring benefits to consumers, even though they receive a modest prioritization in search rankings.
August 19, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Using a field experiment, we studied how consumers valued Amazon brands and the extent of self-preferencing by Amazon.
We found that Amazon brands bring benefits to consumers, even though they receive a modest prioritization in search rankings.
We found that Amazon brands bring benefits to consumers, even though they receive a modest prioritization in search rankings.
With unique data from a large global manufacturer, we were able to study how product markups vary along the supply chain and over time.
One thing that surprised us: though manufacturer and retail markups bounce up and down, total (manufacturer + retail) markups are stable.
One thing that surprised us: though manufacturer and retail markups bounce up and down, total (manufacturer + retail) markups are stable.
August 11, 2025 at 2:11 PM
With unique data from a large global manufacturer, we were able to study how product markups vary along the supply chain and over time.
One thing that surprised us: though manufacturer and retail markups bounce up and down, total (manufacturer + retail) markups are stable.
One thing that surprised us: though manufacturer and retail markups bounce up and down, total (manufacturer + retail) markups are stable.
Reposted by Alex MacKay
Pricing algorithms that provide a speed advantage and commitment can be worse for consumers than full collusion, from Zach Y. Brown and Alexander MacKay https://www.nber.org/papers/w34070
July 31, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Pricing algorithms that provide a speed advantage and commitment can be worse for consumers than full collusion, from Zach Y. Brown and Alexander MacKay https://www.nber.org/papers/w34070
New NBER WP on algorithmic "coercion."
Unlike collusion, coercion can be achieved by a single firm's pricing algorithm.
It can be worse for consumers than collusion.
@nber.org
Unlike collusion, coercion can be achieved by a single firm's pricing algorithm.
It can be worse for consumers than collusion.
@nber.org
July 28, 2025 at 5:18 PM
New NBER WP on algorithmic "coercion."
Unlike collusion, coercion can be achieved by a single firm's pricing algorithm.
It can be worse for consumers than collusion.
@nber.org
Unlike collusion, coercion can be achieved by a single firm's pricing algorithm.
It can be worse for consumers than collusion.
@nber.org
Rivals' prices, and the ability to monitor them, play a special role in pricing algorithms. Zach Brown and I discuss the research and the implications in the latest CPI Antitrust Chronicle on Surveillance Pricing.
Read the article here:
tinyurl.com/2pj93aat
Read the article here:
tinyurl.com/2pj93aat
tinyurl.com
July 24, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Rivals' prices, and the ability to monitor them, play a special role in pricing algorithms. Zach Brown and I discuss the research and the implications in the latest CPI Antitrust Chronicle on Surveillance Pricing.
Read the article here:
tinyurl.com/2pj93aat
Read the article here:
tinyurl.com/2pj93aat
New paper on “Algorithmic Coercion”: We find that a single firm using a pricing algorithm can induce its rivals to set substantially higher prices, even when rivals maximize short-run profits and cannot collude.
May 27, 2025 at 5:41 PM
New paper on “Algorithmic Coercion”: We find that a single firm using a pricing algorithm can induce its rivals to set substantially higher prices, even when rivals maximize short-run profits and cannot collude.
I want to take a moment to share some UVA pride: this week, my colleague Emma Harrington received one of the four AEJ Best Paper Awards from the American Economic Association, for her AEJ: Applied paper with Natalia Emanuel on remote work.
As we say down in Cville, Wahoo-wa!
As we say down in Cville, Wahoo-wa!
April 24, 2025 at 1:40 PM
I want to take a moment to share some UVA pride: this week, my colleague Emma Harrington received one of the four AEJ Best Paper Awards from the American Economic Association, for her AEJ: Applied paper with Natalia Emanuel on remote work.
As we say down in Cville, Wahoo-wa!
As we say down in Cville, Wahoo-wa!
Reposted by Alex MacKay
Hey two "best papers" from UVA Econ! I don't mind bragging a bit! Congrats to Emma and @amackay.bsky.social!
www.aeaweb.org/about-aea/ho...
www.aeaweb.org/about-aea/ho...
AEJ Best Paper Awards
www.aeaweb.org
April 22, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Hey two "best papers" from UVA Econ! I don't mind bragging a bit! Congrats to Emma and @amackay.bsky.social!
www.aeaweb.org/about-aea/ho...
www.aeaweb.org/about-aea/ho...
Reposted by Alex MacKay
100% what @florianederer.bsky.social said - big congratulations to all of the @aeajournals.bsky.social Best Paper award winners, especially Zach Brown & @amackay.bsky.social for their terrific paper on #algorithms and #competition! #economics #AI #econsky
Congratulations to all the winners, especially to Zach Brown & @amackay.bsky.social for their work on algorithmic pricing.
April 22, 2025 at 3:05 PM
100% what @florianederer.bsky.social said - big congratulations to all of the @aeajournals.bsky.social Best Paper award winners, especially Zach Brown & @amackay.bsky.social for their terrific paper on #algorithms and #competition! #economics #AI #econsky
Reposted by Alex MacKay
Congratulations to all the winners, especially to Zach Brown & @amackay.bsky.social for their work on algorithmic pricing.
April 22, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Congratulations to all the winners, especially to Zach Brown & @amackay.bsky.social for their work on algorithmic pricing.
Forthcoming at the Journal of Political Economy: We find that consumer product markups increased more than 25 percent from 2006 to 2019.
One contribution is an approach to estimate IO-style models at scale, yielding flexible consumer preferences and estimates of marginal costs.
One contribution is an approach to estimate IO-style models at scale, yielding flexible consumer preferences and estimates of marginal costs.
March 5, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Forthcoming at the Journal of Political Economy: We find that consumer product markups increased more than 25 percent from 2006 to 2019.
One contribution is an approach to estimate IO-style models at scale, yielding flexible consumer preferences and estimates of marginal costs.
One contribution is an approach to estimate IO-style models at scale, yielding flexible consumer preferences and estimates of marginal costs.
People are paying a lot more attention to US government procurement data. The raw entries you get from usaspending.gov [or "FPDS"] are not very accurate. They are often off by an order of magnitude.
Here's a procedure to get a better measure.
alexandermackay.org/files/Append...
Here's a procedure to get a better measure.
alexandermackay.org/files/Append...
alexandermackay.org
February 21, 2025 at 7:23 PM
People are paying a lot more attention to US government procurement data. The raw entries you get from usaspending.gov [or "FPDS"] are not very accurate. They are often off by an order of magnitude.
Here's a procedure to get a better measure.
alexandermackay.org/files/Append...
Here's a procedure to get a better measure.
alexandermackay.org/files/Append...
Happy to see this paper with @natehmiller.bsky.social in print! In the paper, we address identification of the price coefficient in models of supply and demand. We show how a covariance restriction between demand and cost shocks can resolve endogeneity.
www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
Estimating Models of Supply and Demand: Instruments and Covariance Restrictions
(February 2025) - We consider the identification of empirical models of supply and demand with imperfect competition. We show that a restriction on the covariance between unobserved demand and cost sh...
www.aeaweb.org
February 3, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Happy to see this paper with @natehmiller.bsky.social in print! In the paper, we address identification of the price coefficient in models of supply and demand. We show how a covariance restriction between demand and cost shocks can resolve endogeneity.
www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
Reposted by Alex MacKay
The Environmental Inequality Lab is hiring 2 new pre-docs to join our team! We do research in environmental economics but those with interests in labor/public/urban/spatial/development economics should def apply. Apply here: tinyurl.com/EIL-pre-doc
@AereOrg
@AereOrg
Pre-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Economics and Frank Batten School of Leadership & Public Policy in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America | Research at University of Virginia
Apply for Pre-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Economics and Frank Batten School of Leadership & Public Policy job with University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America. Res...
tinyurl.com
November 22, 2024 at 2:38 PM
The Environmental Inequality Lab is hiring 2 new pre-docs to join our team! We do research in environmental economics but those with interests in labor/public/urban/spatial/development economics should def apply. Apply here: tinyurl.com/EIL-pre-doc
@AereOrg
@AereOrg
Reposted by Alex MacKay
Hey #EconSky, I'm on the job market with an #EconJMP about open source software. OSS is a global public good, widely used and provided by the private sector, but the target of recent industrial policy.
Paper: jeffgortmaker.com/files/Open_S...
1/
Paper: jeffgortmaker.com/files/Open_S...
1/
November 18, 2024 at 7:24 PM
Hey #EconSky, I'm on the job market with an #EconJMP about open source software. OSS is a global public good, widely used and provided by the private sector, but the target of recent industrial policy.
Paper: jeffgortmaker.com/files/Open_S...
1/
Paper: jeffgortmaker.com/files/Open_S...
1/
Reposted by Alex MacKay
Nathan Miller has been appointed Chief Economist of the Antitrust Division. A great appointment. I note with particular pleasure that before becoming an academic, he was a Staff Economist in the Antitrust Division. www.nathanhmiller.org
Nathan Miller | Professor, Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business and Department of Economics | Economist -- Antitrust Division (U.S. DOJ)
Nathan Miller
www.nathanhmiller.org
November 18, 2024 at 7:48 PM
Nathan Miller has been appointed Chief Economist of the Antitrust Division. A great appointment. I note with particular pleasure that before becoming an academic, he was a Staff Economist in the Antitrust Division. www.nathanhmiller.org
A summary of two studies that look at the supply and demand factors behind price changes in consumer products over the period 2006 to 2023. Touches on markups and inflation. Thank you UVA for featuring our research.
as.virginia.edu/investigatin...
as.virginia.edu/investigatin...
Investigating Markups: Evidence of Greedflation?
Prices for consumer goods have rapidly increased in recent years. At the same time, some corporations are reporting record profits. Coincidence? A UVA economist’s research may offer some answers.
as.virginia.edu
November 12, 2024 at 2:40 PM
A summary of two studies that look at the supply and demand factors behind price changes in consumer products over the period 2006 to 2023. Touches on markups and inflation. Thank you UVA for featuring our research.
as.virginia.edu/investigatin...
as.virginia.edu/investigatin...
Reposted by Alex MacKay
🚨Just updated! 📈📉
Algorithmic pricing = automated pricing. This can soften competition, in large part because automation X commitment. But what if managers can override the algorithm, so commitment is diminished?
Algos can still "collude"!
Algorithmic pricing = automated pricing. This can soften competition, in large part because automation X commitment. But what if managers can override the algorithm, so commitment is diminished?
Algos can still "collude"!
October 10, 2024 at 4:12 PM
🚨Just updated! 📈📉
Algorithmic pricing = automated pricing. This can soften competition, in large part because automation X commitment. But what if managers can override the algorithm, so commitment is diminished?
Algos can still "collude"!
Algorithmic pricing = automated pricing. This can soften competition, in large part because automation X commitment. But what if managers can override the algorithm, so commitment is diminished?
Algos can still "collude"!
Reposted by Alex MacKay
A useful suggestion when I asked how to avoid my feed being dominated by a few very frequent posters was the Quiet Posters feed.
bsky.app/profile/why....
A satisfying one-feed solution doesn't seem to exist (at least yet). None are perfect, so I toggle between a few, including this one.
bsky.app/profile/why....
A satisfying one-feed solution doesn't seem to exist (at least yet). None are perfect, so I toggle between a few, including this one.
September 18, 2024 at 5:18 PM
A useful suggestion when I asked how to avoid my feed being dominated by a few very frequent posters was the Quiet Posters feed.
bsky.app/profile/why....
A satisfying one-feed solution doesn't seem to exist (at least yet). None are perfect, so I toggle between a few, including this one.
bsky.app/profile/why....
A satisfying one-feed solution doesn't seem to exist (at least yet). None are perfect, so I toggle between a few, including this one.
Reposted by Alex MacKay
I am trying to be more active on here, and have not yet seen an IO or org econ starter pack, so here is an attempt at one:
go.bsky.app/Rchu8QX
Please shout out if I have forgotten someone, or when others join. #EconSky
go.bsky.app/Rchu8QX
Please shout out if I have forgotten someone, or when others join. #EconSky
September 13, 2024 at 9:17 PM
I am trying to be more active on here, and have not yet seen an IO or org econ starter pack, so here is an attempt at one:
go.bsky.app/Rchu8QX
Please shout out if I have forgotten someone, or when others join. #EconSky
go.bsky.app/Rchu8QX
Please shout out if I have forgotten someone, or when others join. #EconSky
🚨We are hiring two postdocs for AY 24-25 at the Pricing Lab at
Harvard/HBS. The position is open to those with and without AP offers.
You can work with industry data alongside Alberto Cavallo (macro side of the lab) and myself. Link for microeconomics:
academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/12981
Harvard/HBS. The position is open to those with and without AP offers.
You can work with industry data alongside Alberto Cavallo (macro side of the lab) and myself. Link for microeconomics:
academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/12981
Postdoctoral Fellow - Pricing Lab (Micro) - Digital, Data, and Design Institute, Harvard University
The Digital, Data, and Design (D^3) Institute at Harvard is accepting applications for multiple postdoctoral fellows for academic year 2024-2025 to work on research activities at our research labs. D^...
academicpositions.harvard.edu
January 3, 2024 at 4:23 PM
🚨We are hiring two postdocs for AY 24-25 at the Pricing Lab at
Harvard/HBS. The position is open to those with and without AP offers.
You can work with industry data alongside Alberto Cavallo (macro side of the lab) and myself. Link for microeconomics:
academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/12981
Harvard/HBS. The position is open to those with and without AP offers.
You can work with industry data alongside Alberto Cavallo (macro side of the lab) and myself. Link for microeconomics:
academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/12981
Are online prices higher because of pricing algorithms?
Here we provide a high-level summary of the recent economic literature (see footnotes for papers):
www.brookings.edu/articles/are...
Here we provide a high-level summary of the recent economic literature (see footnotes for papers):
www.brookings.edu/articles/are...
Are online prices higher because of pricing algorithms? | Brookings
Zach Brown and Alexander MacKay discuss the nuanced effects technological advances and pricing algorithms have had on creating fair and competitive markets online.
www.brookings.edu
October 3, 2023 at 8:47 PM
Are online prices higher because of pricing algorithms?
Here we provide a high-level summary of the recent economic literature (see footnotes for papers):
www.brookings.edu/articles/are...
Here we provide a high-level summary of the recent economic literature (see footnotes for papers):
www.brookings.edu/articles/are...