Optimal durability vs. planned obsolescence in the textbook market
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Date
2014
Authors
Peterson, J.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Nazarbayev University
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.
Description
Keywords
textbook market, optimal durability, quality differences, time inconsistency, materials