Law and Economics

摘要

In their book Virtual Competition, two legal scholars, Ariel Ezrachi and Maurice Stucke, explore the algorithm-based digital economy. They focus on competition policy challenges from algorithm-based firm decisions, but also touch wider concerns about the role of media, political and intellectual capture, and wealth inequality. As the subtitle The Promise and Perils of the Algorithm-Driven Economy suggests, they explore trade-offs from a societal and, in particular, a consumer-welfare perspective. As they explain in the introductory chapter, with the advances of algorithm-based digital marketplaces, consumers can more easily find products they like, encounter offers not available to them in the offline world, and may benefit from increased competition between sellers. However, the majority of space is dedicated to the perils. Ezrachi and Stucke provide three perspectives.