Handbook of Media Economics

Product Description Handbook of Media Economics provides valuable information on a unique field that has its own theories, evidence, and policies. Understanding the media is important for society, and while new technologies are altering the media, they are also affecting our understanding of their economics. Chapters span the large scope of media economics, simultaneously offering in-depth analysis of particular topics, including the economics of why media are important, how media work (including financing sources, institutional settings, and regulation), what determines media content (including media bias), and the effects of new technologies. The volumes provide a powerful introduction for those interested in starting research in media economics.Helps academic and non-academic economists understand recent rapid changes in theoretical and empirical advances, in structural empirical methods, and in the media industry's connection with the democratic processPresents the only detailed summary of media economics that emphasizes political economy, merger policy, and competition policyPays special attention to the economic influences of the Internet, including developments in social media, user-generated content, and advertising, as well as the Internet's effects on newspapers, radio, and television Review "This Handbook provides a very useful overview of the economic literature on the media, a literature that has grown tremendously in the last few decades. Now we will have one single place to go when in need of accessing state-of the-art knowledge in this research area. It is particularly welcome that the editors have collected surveys both across the various media industries and across the main market-structure and political-economy issues."--Tore Nilssen, University of Oslo From the Back Cover Recent academic research has succeeded in defining media economics as a unique field that has its own theories, evidence, and policies. Understanding the media is of high importance for society, and while new technologies are altering the media, they are also affecting our understanding of their economics. This volume spans the large scope of media economics while simultaneously offering in-depth analysis of particular topics. The economics of why media are important, how media work (including financing sources, institutional settings, and regulation), what determines media content (including media bias), and the effects of new technologies receive authoritative treatment. For those who want to start research in media economics, it is a powerful introduction. About the Author Simon Anderson is Commonwealth Professor of Economics at the University of Virginia. He has published on advertising, search and information, price dispersion, media economics, and industrial organization.Joel Waldfogel is Frederick R. Kappell Chair in Applied Economics. Previously the Ehrenkranz Family Professor of Business and Public Policy at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, he has conducted empirical studies of price advertising, media markets, and issues related to digital products.A Professor at the Institute for International Economic Studies, David Stromberg is also a Research Affiliate in the Public Policy Program at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC. He has published on the influence exerted by media on public policy.