Optimal durability vs. planned obsolescence in the textbook market

Abstract

In various durable goods markets, producers have been often accused of engaging in planned obsolescence. This is the practice of reducing product durability or otherwise manipulating the secondary market in order to reduce or eliminate the effect of the presence of the used good on the new good market. In this literature, of all durable goods, has been often argued that the US textbook market exhibits this feature, however recent works have questioned this finding. I model this market in order to generate empirical predictions and intuitions that shed light on whether and why this might happen in this market.